JP6516355B2 - Data transmission device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a data transmission apparatus, and more particularly to a data transmission apparatus that transmits read image data by electronic mail.

  In recent years, documents have been digitized, and paper materials and the like are read by a scanner, digitized in a Portable Document Format (PDF) format or a Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) format, and stored in a server or the like. Storage data is shared. If the paper material is personal, it can be digitized and stored in a notebook PC (Personal Computer), so that a large amount of material can be reduced in weight and viewed in multiple windows. It is possible to improve the utilization of data by data search and the like.

  Scanners that read a large amount of paper data are connected to the network for shared use by many people, and can send scanned image data attached to an e-mail with the scan to Email function via the network. it can. The same applies to a multifunction peripheral equipped with a scanner function.

  As described above, when the scan to e-mail function is used, reading of all the originals placed on the automatic document feeder of the scanner device or the multifunction device is completed, and after being digitized as one file, designated by the user Will be sent to the destination e-mail address. Therefore, the user causes the paper material to be read in a plurality of times when the amount of paper material to be digitized is large or when it is desired to divide the paper material into a plurality of files for transmission. In such a case, the user continuously sends an e-mail to the same destination e-mail address a plurality of times by the scan to e-mail function.

However, conventionally, in order to prevent erroneous transmission, the transmission destination information is once erased when transmission of the image data is completed by the scan to e-mail function. Therefore, even in the case of continuously sending to the same destination, the e-mail address of the destination has to be reentered.
On the other hand, when the image data transmission by the scan to Email function is completed, the information communication apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 displays a tracking transmission confirmation screen to make the user confirm the presence / absence of tracking transmission to the same destination, When there is follow-up transmission, the transmission destination data is left on the transmission destination setting screen, and the input work of the same transmission destination is reduced.

Patent No. 4331191

  However, the information communication apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 needs to be operated by the user on the follow-up transmission confirmation screen, which causes the user's trouble.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a data transmitting apparatus which requires less time and labor when transmitting read image data continuously to the same transmission destination by e-mail. To aim.

In order to solve the above problems, a first technical means of the present invention is a data transmitting apparatus for reading an original image and transmitting the read image data by e-mail to an e-mail address of a transmission destination designated by the user. The destination e-mail address is a plurality of destination e-mail addresses of all the destinations for the next transmission when at least one of the destination e-mail address domains is the same as a predetermined domain. And a device control unit that holds the setting of the device.
A second technical means of the present invention is a data transmitting apparatus for reading a document image and transmitting the read image data by e-mail to a destination e-mail address designated by the user, wherein the destination e-mail address is More than one, when at least one of the domains of the destination e-mail address is the same as a predetermined domain, the device control unit holds all the destination e-mail addresses as the destination setting for the next transmission. It is characterized by having.

A third technical means of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second technical means, the predetermined domain is a domain of a mail address preset for the data transmission apparatus. is there.

According to a fourth technical means of the present invention, in the first or second technical means, a predetermined domain is a domain of a mail address preset for the data transmission apparatus and a mail address of the authenticated user. It is characterized by being a domain.

A fifth technical means of the present invention is characterized in that in the first or second technical means, the predetermined domain is a domain of the mail address of the authenticated user.

  According to the data transmitting apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to further reduce the trouble in transmitting the read image data continuously to the same transmission destination by e-mail.

1 is a block diagram of a data transmission apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart explaining an example of the data transmission process in the data transmission apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation screen accompanying the data transmission process of FIG. It is a figure which shows the other example of the operation screen accompanying the data transmission process of FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the data transmission apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in the following invention, the description which abbreviate | omits the description as the structure which attached | subjected the same code | symbol also in different drawings is the same.

  The data transmitting apparatus according to the present invention reads an original image, and transmits the read image data by e-mail to an e-mail address of a transmission destination designated by the user.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a configuration example of a digital multi-functional peripheral to which the present invention is applied, in which 1 is a digital multi-functional peripheral. Hereinafter, the digital multi-functional peripheral 1 will be described as an example of the data transmission apparatus according to the present invention, but the present invention is similarly applicable to other apparatuses. The digital multi-functional peripheral 1 illustrated here is an example of the image forming apparatus, and has a facsimile function, an internet facsimile function, an e-mail transmission function, and a file transfer function in addition to the copying function and the printing function.

  The digital multi-functional peripheral 1 includes a device control unit 14 including a CPU that performs an operation and a RAM that stores temporary information associated with the operation. The device control unit 14 includes a ROM storing a control program for controlling the digital multi-functional peripheral 1.

  Further, connected to the device control unit 14 is a management unit 17 which is a memory for storing management information (a variety of control information including an address book) for managing the process performed by the digital multi-functional peripheral 1. The device control unit 14 is connected to an image reading unit 11 that reads an image recorded on a recording sheet to generate image data. The image reading unit 11 includes a CCD 11a for capturing, as image data, an image of a document placed on a document table or sent by an automatic document feeder (ADF), and a document detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a document 11b are provided.

  The device control unit 14 is also connected to an image forming unit 13 that forms image data on a recording sheet. The image forming unit 13 includes a memory 13a for temporarily storing image data, a printing unit (LSU) 13b for forming an image from the image data stored in the memory 13a and recording it on a recording sheet, and a printing unit 13b. Trays 13c and 13d for sheet feeding for image formation are provided. Then, after temporarily storing the image data generated by the image reading unit 11 in the memory 13a, the digital multifunction peripheral 1 can form an image by the printing unit 13b. Thus, the digital multifunction device 1 functions as a copying machine.

  Further, a fax modem 18 for performing facsimile communication is connected to the device control unit 14 illustrated in FIG. 1, and the fax modem 18 is connected to the telephone network N3. The digital multi-functional peripheral 1 can transmit the image data generated by the image reading unit 11 to another facsimile machine 4 by facsimile communication via the telephone network N3 connected to the fax modem 18. In addition, the digital multi-functional peripheral 1 may receive image data transmitted from another facsimile apparatus 4 via the telephone network N3 by the FAX modem 18, and form an image by the image forming unit 13 from the received image data. it can. Thus, the digital multi-function device 1 functions as a facsimile device.

  Further, the device control unit 14 is connected to a communication unit 15 for the digital multi-functional peripheral 1 to transmit and receive information to and from the outside. The communication unit 15 can be connected to a communication network N1 such as an in-house LAN, and one or more PCs 5 can be connected to the communication network N1. In a normal state where the digital multi-functional peripheral 1 is operating alone, the communication unit 15 is connected to the communication network N1 and exchanges information with the PC 5 via the communication network N1.

  The digital multi-functional peripheral 1 can transmit the image data generated by the image reading unit 11 from the communication unit 15 to the PC 5. In this manner, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 functions as a scanner device with file transmission function (file transfer device).

  A hard disk drive (HD) 16 is connected to the device control unit 14. The HD 16 stores image data related to image processing such as image data generated by the image reading unit 11. The digital multi-function peripheral 1 also functions as a file transfer device for data other than image data obtained by reading. For example, data stored in the HD 16 can also be transmitted to the PC 5 or an external PC 3 described later via the communication unit 15. Further, the erasing unit 19 is connected to the device control unit 14. The erasing unit 19 erases the data recorded and held in the HD 16 under the control of the device control unit 14.

  The digital multi-functional peripheral 1 can also receive the image data transmitted from the PC 5 by the communication unit 15 and form an image by the image forming unit 13 from the received image data. Thus, the digital multi-function peripheral 1 functions as a printing apparatus (printer).

  The communication network N1 is further connected to a wide area communication network N2 such as the Internet. The communication unit 15 transmits the communication network N1 and the wide area communication network N2 between the Internet facsimile apparatus 2 and the external PC 3 connected to the wide area communication network N2 by a method of attaching image data to an electronic mail and transmitting the attached data. Image data can be received via the interface. Thus, the digital multifunction device 1 functions as an Internet facsimile apparatus or an e-mail transmission apparatus.

  The device control unit 14 is connected to an operation unit 12 that receives an operation including designation of a transmission destination from a user. The operation unit 12 includes an input unit 12a such as a touch panel or a numeric keypad to which information such as a control command is input by a user operation, and a display unit 12b such as a liquid crystal panel to display information necessary for the operation. There is. It is preferable that the operation unit 12 be configured to be able to input the text when the e-mail is generated. An authentication code for authenticating an administrator or a user (i.e., an operator) of the digital multi-functional peripheral 1 is input to the operation unit 12. The authentication code may also be input from an external device via the communication unit 15 or the like.

  The main features of the present invention incorporated in the digital multi-functional peripheral 1 configured as described above will be described below. The digital multi-functional peripheral 1 is characterized by an operation when transmitting read image data to the same transmission destination by e-mail continuously. The e-mail address of the digital multi-functional peripheral 1 is preset so that e-mail can be transmitted, and the e-mail address is stored in, for example, the management unit 17.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an example of data transmission processing in the digital multi-function peripheral 1 of FIG.
When the document detection sensor 11b detects that the document has been set on the document table or the ADF (step S1), the user inputs the setting of the e-mail address of the transmission destination via the input unit 12a (step S2). The order of steps S1 and S2 does not matter.

  In the process of step S2, first, the device control unit 14 causes the display unit 12b to display an initial screen 21 of scan to email as shown in FIG. The initial screen 21 is provided with a transmission destination display field 21a, and a message prompting the user to input a transmission destination "input destination by touch" is displayed in the transmission destination display field 21a. Further, the initial screen 21 is provided with a transmission mode selection field 21b, which is the transmission mode, that is, the transmission destination in any of “To”, “Cc (Carbon Copy)” and “Bcc (Blind carbon copy)” of the electronic mail. It is possible to select in the pull-down method whether to transmit to the e-mail address of the transmission destination displayed in the display field 21a, and "To" is selected on the initial screen 21 of the figure.

Then, when the user presses the transmission destination display orchid 21 a of the initial screen 21, the device control unit 14 causes the display unit 12 b to display an alphanumeric input screen (not shown). You can directly enter the email address of the destination of.
In step S2, the user is not limited to direct input, and the user can be made to select a transmission destination by calling an address book registered and managed by the management unit 17 or the like.
The e-mail addresses of the destinations of the "cc" and "Bcc" fields can be directly input or selected from the address book as described above.
In the following description, it is assumed that one e-mail address "aaa@abc.co.jp" is input as the transmission destination e-mail address in the "To" field.

  When the input of the transmission destination is completed, the device control unit 14 displays the mail address “aaa@abc.co.jp” of the transmission destination of the input “To” column as shown in the operation screen 22 of FIG. The operation screen displayed on 22a is displayed on the display unit 12b.

  In such a state, the device control unit 14 determines whether or not the start key has been pressed by the input unit 12a (step S3). When the start key has not been pressed (in the case of NO), the process is returned to step S2. If the document is pressed (in the case of YES), the CCD 11a is instructed to start reading a document to be transmitted (step S4). Subsequently, the device control unit 14 determines whether the reading of the document is completed (step S5), and if not completed (in the case of NO), the process returns to step S5, and is completed (in YES) (In the case), the transmission process of the read image data is started (step S6). Then, the device control unit 14 determines whether the transmission process has been completed (step S7).

If the transmission process is not completed (in the case of NO), the device control unit 14 returns the process to step S7, and if the transmission process is completed (in the case of YES), the transmission destination in the “To” column It is determined whether or not the e-mail address of is stored for the next transmission, that is, whether or not it is stored as the setting of the next transmission destination (step S8).
In step S8, the device control unit 14 refers to the memory in the management unit 17 and the device control unit 14 and the like, and sends the mail address “aaa@abc.co.jp” as the transmission destination domain of the To column. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the domain of the mail address set in advance in the digital multi-functional peripheral 1 itself matches. In accordance with the determination result, it is determined whether or not the mail address “aaa@abc.co.jp” of the transmission destination of the “To” column is held.

  If the domains match, the device control unit 14 holds the e-mail address of the transmission destination in the To column (step S8, YES), and as in the operation screen 22 of FIG. The operation screen on which the mail address "aaa@abc.co.jp" is continuously displayed on the transmission destination display orchid 22a, that is, the mail address "aaa @ abc" of the transmission destination of the previous "To" field as the setting of the next transmission destination. The operation screen holding the ".co.jp" is displayed on the display unit 12b, and the reading of the next transmission target document is awaited (step S9). In this way, when the domains match, what is held is the relationship between the location where the digital multi-functional peripheral 1 is installed and the destination (for example, the destination is an employee of the company where the digital multi-functional peripheral 1 is installed, etc. As a result of holding it, it is presumed that even if it is erroneously sent, it will not cause much problem.

  On the other hand, if the domains do not match, the device control unit 14 does not hold the e-mail address of the transmission destination in the "To" column (step S8, NO), as shown in the initial screen 21 of scan to email in FIG. The display unit 12b displays the operation screen in which the e-mail address of the transmission destination of the previous To column has been deleted from the transmission destination display field 21a, and waits for the input of the e-mail address of the transmission destination in the next transmission (step S10).

  The determination in step S8 may be performed after completion of the previous transmission as described herein, but may be performed before transmission of the previous data.

Second Embodiment
The data transmission apparatus of the second embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in the process of determining whether to hold the transmission destination e-mail address in step S8.
The data transmission apparatus of the second embodiment has a user authentication function, and in the process of determining whether or not to hold the transmission destination e-mail address in the "To" column, the transmission destination e-mail in the "To" column is It is determined whether the domain of the address matches both the domain of the email address set in advance in the digital multi-functional peripheral 1 itself and the domain of the email address of the authenticated user. Only when there is a match, the destination e-mail address in the "To" field is held as the setting of the next destination. As a result, it is possible to further reduce the trouble in transmitting the read image data continuously to the same transmission destination by e-mail, and to improve security.

The e-mail address of the authenticated user can be acquired from, for example, an external server via the network.
As described above, when the domain matches the multifunction device and the domain of the authenticated user, what is held is related to the place where the digital multifunction device 1 is installed, the user, and the destination (for example, the destination and the user) Since it is an employee of the company in which the digital multi-functional peripheral 1 is installed, etc.), it is assumed that as a result of holding, it does not become a big problem even if it makes an erroneous transmission.

Third Embodiment
The data transmission apparatus of the third embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in the process of determining whether to hold the transmission destination e-mail address in step S8.
The data transmission apparatus of the third embodiment has a user authentication function as in the second embodiment, and in the process of determining whether to hold the transmission destination e-mail address of the "To" column, It is determined whether the domain of the destination e-mail address in the "To" field matches the domain of the e-mail address of the authenticated user. Only when there is a match, the destination e-mail address in the "To" column is held as the setting of the next destination, and when it does not match (including when the user is not authenticated), it is not held.

The e-mail address of the authenticated user can be acquired from, for example, an external server via the network.
As described above, when the domain matches the domain of the authenticated user, the user and the destination hold the relationship because the relevance between the user and the destination (for example, the destination and the user are employees of the same company) As a result, it is presumed that no problem will occur even if an erroneous transmission is made.

In the above, only the transmission destination in the "To" column has been described, but the mail address of the transmission destination in the "cc" column and the "bcc" column is similarly determined, and the domain of the mail address preset in the transmission device Etc. may be held only when they match a predetermined domain such as.
When the transmission destination is set in the "cc" column or the "bcc" column, the transmission destination e-mail address of the "To" column is required, and therefore, the transmission destination e-mail address is plural. In addition, a plurality of e-mail addresses of transmission destinations can be simultaneously set in the "To" field. As described above, when there are a plurality of e-mail addresses of the transmission destination, only those in which the predetermined e-mail address and the domain match may be stored, or if there is even one even predetermined e-mail address and the domain match You may make it hold the e-mail address of all the transmission destinations. Further, only when the domains of all or part of the email addresses in the “To” field match the predetermined domain, the destination email addresses of the “cc” field and the “bcc” field may be held.

  The data transmission device reads an original image and sends the read image data by e-mail to the e-mail address of the transmission destination designated by the user, and the domain of the e-mail address of the transmission destination is the same as the predetermined domain. In this case, a device control unit is provided which holds the e-mail address of the transmission destination as the setting of the transmission destination for the next transmission. As a result, it is possible to further reduce the trouble when transmitting the read image data continuously to the same transmission destination by e-mail.

  The predetermined domain is, for example, a domain of a mail address preset for the data transmission apparatus and / or a domain of the mail address of an authenticated user. As a result, only when there is an association between the user and the data transmission apparatus or the transmission destination, the mail address of the transmission destination can be held as the setting of the transmission destination of the next transmission.

Reference Signs List 1 digital complex machine 2 Internet facsimile machine 3 external PC 4 facsimile machine 5 PC 11 image reading unit 11 a CCD 11 b document detection sensor 12 operation unit 12 a 12 input Unit 12b Display unit 13 Image formation unit 13a Memory 13b Printing unit (LSU) 13c, 13d Tray 14 Device control unit 15 Communication unit 16 Hard disk drive (HD) 17: administration unit, 18: fax modem, 19: erasure unit, N1: communication network (LAN), N2: Internet network (wide area communication network), N3: telephone network.

Claims (5)

A data transmission apparatus for reading an original image and transmitting the read image data by e-mail to an e-mail address of a transmission destination designated by the user.
When there are a plurality of e-mail addresses of the transmission destination and the domain of the e-mail address of the transmission destination is the same as a predetermined domain, the e-mail address of the transmission destination is the same as the predetermined domain for the next transmission. A data transmission apparatus comprising: an apparatus control unit which holds only the setting of the transmission destination. A data transmission apparatus for reading an original image and transmitting the read image data by e-mail to an e-mail address of a transmission destination designated by the user.
  When there are a plurality of e-mail addresses of the transmission destination and at least one of the domains of the e-mail address of the transmission destination is the same as a predetermined domain, the e-mail addresses of all the transmission destinations are set as the transmission destination for the next transmission. And a device control unit for holding the data. The data transmission device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the predetermined domain is a domain of an e-mail address preset for the data transmission device. The data transmission apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the predetermined domain is a domain of an email address preset for the data transmission apparatus and a domain of an email address of the authenticated user. . The data transmission apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the predetermined domain is a domain of an email address of the authenticated user.

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