JPH0344249A - Facsimile negotiation system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the reception of a facsimile document disabling print-out by deciding the designation for a paper size and a resolution parameter based on the attribute of a printer shared in common to a local area network. CONSTITUTION:The system is provided with a storage means 300 storing a reception function data included in a document command in a reception data received from facsimile equipments 201, 202 connecting to a digital public network 200 and a storage means 104 storing the attribute table of a print server 103 placed in a connected local area network 100. In this case, after the reception of the document command, the paper size and the resolution parameter are designated based on the attribute of the common print server 103 on the LAM 100. Thus, the reception of the facsimile document causing disabled prin- out is avoided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is connected to a digital public network and a local area network system, and transmits received data received from the digital public network to a local area network (rLA).
The present invention relates to a facsimile negotiation method of a facsimile server that sends data to other connected devices (referred to as NJ).

[Prior art] Documents created and edited on a workstation (hereinafter referred to as a terminal) can be transmitted to another terminal via a LAN, or even transmitted to another terminal via a LAN.
It has been conventional practice to transmit documents to other digital public networks etc. via a modem in a communication server connected to N.

This transmitted document is mainly composed of character information, graphic information, and the like. A part of the figure is composed of information obtained by editing and processing image information read from an image scanner.

Generally, the amount of information is relatively small, so it is done in a raw data format that is an expanded version of the character-based so-called e-mail function.

On the other hand, do not transmit documents based on characters (,
The technology of handling image information made up of dots and transmitting it via public networks is a technology developed as facsimile technology. In particular, Group 4 facsimile systems compatible with digital public networks use MMR (Modified Motion Control).
High-resolution image information of 400 dpi (dat/1 nch) on A4 size paper can be transmitted in just a few seconds using the divided read compression technology.

Therefore, by taking advantage of its high speed and high resolution characteristics, the L
In order for an AN terminal to send a document containing only image information at high speed, or a document containing mainly code information at high speed, L
A facsimile server device that supports the facsimile procedure of the Group 4 standard is increasingly installed in the AN.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, this conventional facsimile server device is
It was positioned as a transmission-only device that was shared by AN users, and in terms of reception, it was not shared but operated as a stand-alone facsimile device.

Therefore, when attempting to realize a facsimile server device that shares the above-mentioned receiving function, the parameters related to the receiving capability to be notified to the sending facsimile terminal must be matched with the capabilities of the LAN side terminal and shared resources.

Conventionally, the problem was how to achieve this consistency.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, and includes the following configuration as one means for solving the above-mentioned problems.

That is, a storage means connected to a digital public network and a local area network system and storing receiving function data included in a document command (such as CDCL) in received data received from a facsimile device connected to the digital public network; and storage means for storing attribute tables of print servers located on the local area network.

[Operation] In the above configuration, the document command (CDCL
etc.), the paper size information and resolution information included in the document function acknowledgment (RDCLP, etc.) that is responded to the sending facsimile device are set to the parameter values that match the contents stored in the storage means and the contents stored in the storage means. Configure it so that it becomes

[Example] Hereinafter, an example according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network system to which a facsimile server device, which is the device of this embodiment, is connected.
N, 101 to 102 are terminals connected to the LAN 100,
103 is a print server, and 104 is a file server.

Further, 200 is a digital public network, and digital public network 2
00 are connected to facsimile devices 201 and 202 capable of facsimile communication in accordance with the G4 standard.

Furthermore, 300 is a facsimile server device for realizing the communication control of this embodiment, which distributes data from the LAN 100 to the public network 200 and also performs processing for distributing data from the public network 200 to the LAN 100.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of the facsimile server device of this embodiment.

In FIG.
This is a CPU that controls the entire apparatus according to the control procedures shown in FIGS. 10 and 16, and in particular controls G4 facsimile communication data and LAN internal communication data interoperation control. lOa is a ROM that stores the above-mentioned programs, etc.; 11 is a G4 facsimile communication control unit that performs communication protocol processing for each layer in G4 facsimile communication; and 12 is a buffer memory for temporarily storing transmitted and received data when transmitting and receiving G4 facsimile data. Yes, it absorbs the speed difference between the disk file transfer speed and the network speed.

Reference numeral 13 denotes a large-capacity disk in which MMR-compressed image files and attribute information of each image file are stored.

14 is a file management unit that manages files stored in the disk memory 13; 15 is a timestamp clock for recording the time when a file is stored on the disk; 16 is a clock that records the remaining capacity of the disk memory 13; A disk space monitoring section 17 regularly monitors the disk space using a file management table and notifies the CPU 10 when the remaining capacity falls below a predetermined setting value. Reference numeral 17 is a user attribute table representing the attributes of registered users within the LAN.

In addition, 18 is a printer with a log-in user within the LAN (
19 is a standard message table in which various messages sent by the CPU 10 to terminals on the LAN are stored as code information; 20 is a table for storing files instructed by the CPU 10 on the LAN; Similarly, the print server output control unit 21 that outputs to the print server above is connected to the CPU 1.
This is a LAN terminal output control unit that outputs the file specified by 0 to a terminal on the LAN.

22 is a login detection unit that monitors command claims on the LAN and, if the command frame is a login command, notifies the CPU 10 of the frame detection.

Reference numeral 23 denotes an intra-LAN communication control unit that controls the intra-LAN communication protocol, and the data portion transmitted via this intra-LAN communication control opening unit 23 is developed on the LAN buffer memory 24.

The code-image conversion section 25 is a section that expands the code document in the fixed message table 19 into a bit image, and the MMR companding section 26 expands the MMR-compressed facsimile document stored in the disk memory 13 into a bit image. do.

Further, the code document received from the LAN is converted into an image by the code-image converter 25, and is expanded into an image by the MMR compandor 25.
After being subjected to MMR compression in step 6, it is filed in the disk memory 13.

FIG. 3 shows the layer configuration of the G4 facsimile communication control section 11 in the above configuration.

In FIG. 3, 30 is a network interface circuit that forms a physical interface with DDK (Digital Data Exchange Network) and l5DN (Digital Service Integration Network);
1 is a layer that performs call connection with the network, call disconnection, error control, and communication control, and x, 25 packet control is typical.

32 is a session control unit that performs negotiation of G4 facsimile terminal attributes and data transfer.

Generally, the presentation control unit No. 33 manages a parameter table of terminal attributes and encodes/decodes facsimile images (bit images).
In this embodiment, encoding and decoding are not performed, and files are managed as they are in MMR compression in order to reduce the storage file capacity.

Further, allowable parameter values in terminal attribute negotiation are instructed by the CPU 1 based on a print server attribute table 18, which will be described later.

Further, FIG. 4 shows a detailed configuration of a file management table for each image file stored in the large-capacity disk 13 managed by the file management section 14 described above.

The attribute information of each image file in this file management table is managed by the file management section 14.

The file management table shown in FIG. 4 shows a file received by the G4 facsimile communication control unit 11 and stored in the disk memory 13, that is, a file management table when the file is transferred to the LAN side.

In FIG. 4, the table configuration items of the file management table are file number (35) arbitrarily assigned by the file management section 14, attribute 36 of the received bit image, x
, 25 extension address 3 added to the incoming call packet
7. File location address 38 on disk memory 13, file size 39, file reception time 4
0, and a reception notification marking 41 indicating that the existence of the received file has been notified to the LAN side.

The attributes 36 of the received bit image consist of a paper size (for example, A4 size) 36a and a resolution 36b (for example, 400 dpi), and the reception notification marking 41 is a terminal notification 41a.
and a print notification 41b.

Furthermore, the detailed configuration of the above-mentioned user attribute table 17 will be explained below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 5, extended address 45 is the value of the X,25 incoming call packet extended address field, and is assigned to each user as an extension address. LAN user name 4
6 is a user registered by the LAN administrator, L
Access to various resources within the AN is permitted.

The type 47 indicates the attribute assigned to the extended address, for example, normal 48. Two types of Confidential Exhibit 49 are shown. The received file and file documents are processed based on this attribute. Current login 50 is user L
This indicates whether or not the user is currently logged in to the AN, and the physical address 51 is the LA of the logged-in terminal.
It shows the N address.

The detailed configuration of the print server attribute table described above is shown in the sixth section.
As shown in the figure.

In FIG. 6, print server number 55 is.

The CPU 10 arbitrarily runs each print server 1 on the AN.
This is the management number assigned to 03 etc. Current active 56 indicates whether the print server 103 or the like is currently available, and image output 57 indicates whether the printer is capable of outputting dot images.

Print resolution 58 indicates the type of dot image density (for example, 400 dpi). The print paper size 59 indicates the paper size (for example, A4 size) that can be printed out. Physical address 60 indicates the LAN address of the print server.

The operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be described in detail below.

First, the G4 facsimile communication control unit 11 performs the third
The operation of the network control section 31 that performs call setup/release in the protocol processing shown in the figure will be explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 7, and the session starting operation of the session control section 32 will be explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. .

In the following explanation, G4 facsimile communication control unit 1
1 is represented as the receiving side.

First, with reference to FIG. 7, the G4 facsimile communication control unit 1
The operation of the network control unit 31 that performs call setup/release in the protocol processing shown in FIG.

The network control unit 31 performs step S601 in FIG.
Wait for the reception of an incoming call packet. When an incoming call packet is received, the process proceeds to step 5602, where it is checked whether there is a called address extension facility in the facility knife field of the received packet. If there is no called address extension facility, there is no user specification within the LAN, and the process proceeds to step 5607, where the recovery request packet C
The Q packet is sent to the transmitting G4 terminal and the process ends.

On the other hand, if there is a called address extension facility, the process advances to step 5603 and stores the extension address (aaa).

Then, in step 5604, the user attribute table shown in FIG. 5 described above that exists in the server is searched. Then, in the following step 5605, it is checked whether an extended address (aaa) is registered in this user attribute. If it is registered, the process advances to step 5605, and a CA packet, which is an incoming call acceptance packet, is sent to the transmitting G4 terminal.

If it is not registered, proceed to step 5607, and
Send Q packet.

With the above operation, an incoming call for which a registered user within the LAN cannot be identified cannot be delivered even if a facsimile document is received, so it is possible to reject the incoming call at the stage of incoming call.

Next, the session starting operation will be explained below with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The G4 facsimile communication control unit 11 waits for reception of a session start command (C3S command) in step 701, and upon receiving the session start command, proceeds to step 5.
Proceed to step 702. Then, in step 5702, the session user data field of the C8S is examined. If the destination terminal is not 64 facsimile class 1, step 57
Proceed to 09 and receive the session start negative response (R5SN
) is sent to the calling terminal and the process ends.

On the other hand, if the other party's terminal is 64 facsimile class 1, the process advances to step 5703, where it sends a session start acknowledgment response, and then, at step 5704, the CD from the originating terminal is sent.
Waits for reception of a CL command, ie, a document function list command. When the document function list command is received, the process proceeds to step 5705, where information on paper size and resolution is extracted from the reception function list added to the CDCL and stored. Next, in step 5706, parameter values and the like that can be printed out by the print servers registered on the LAN in the print server attribute table 18 shown in FIG. 6 are detected. Search for the paper size and resolution of the printer that can output the image from among these, and step 5707
First, refer to the parameter obtained in step 5705 (
negotiation). and step 5708
As a result, the print server that can print out is LA.
If the print server's parameters are present on the document capabilities acknowledgment response (RDCLP)
At this time, the storage capacity negotiation result is also notified by RDCLP.

Through the above-described operations, the G4 facsimile communication control unit 11 can perform terminal negotiation to ensure that the received facsimile document can be output to the LAN print server.

Note that after the negotiation is completed, reception of the facsimile document is started, and the document is stored in the disk memory 13 while being MMR compressed.

This also requires less storage capacity and allows a large amount of documents to be stored.

This received document is stored in file N by the file management unit 14.
o is added, and paper size and resolution are also managed as attribute information.

This management table is shown in FIG. 4 mentioned above.

After storing the received document in the disk memory 13, the CPU10
will notify the destination user on the LAN of receiving the facsimile document.

Next, FIG. 9 shows the distribution operation to the destination user on the LAN.
This will be explained with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the control for notifying reception when the destination user logs into the LAN, and FIG. 10 is the control for outputting the reception list to the logged-in user terminal and shared printer (print server) by timer interrupt. It is a flowchart which shows.

First, control when a destination user logs into the LAN will be explained with reference to FIG.

The login monitoring unit 22 constantly monitors command frames flowing on the LAN in step 5801. and,
When the command frame is received, the process advances to step 5802, where it is determined whether the received command is a login command.

FIG. 11 shows the format of the login command used in this embodiment.

In FIG. 11, F65 is a flag indicating a frame break, broadcast address 66 is a receiving terminal address indicating that all terminals on the LAN will receive the broadcast, and transmitting terminal address 67 is the LAN of the terminal used by the logged-in user. The address C7068 is a bit indicating whether this frame is a command or data, and in this case it is "1" because it is a login command. For this reason, step 580
In the determination of 1, the bit of C7068 is checked to determine whether or not it is a command frame.

Further, the login command code 69 is composed of a predetermined bit pattern representing a login request. User name 70 is the user name expressed in JIS Kanji code, FCS7
1 is a frame check sequence for checking frame errors.

When a login command is detected in step 5802, the process advances to step 5803, and all received command frame information is stored in the buffer memory 24. Then, in step 5804, the user attribute table 17 is searched, and in the subsequent step 5805, it is checked whether the user name 70 in the received command frame is registered. If the user name is not registered here, the process ends.

On the other hand, if the user is registered, the process advances to step 5806 and the physical address of the user is entered in the user attribute table 1.
Write to 7. Then, in the following step 5807, the current login bit 50 of the user attribute table 17 is set to “ON”.
”.

Note that the login detection unit 22 also performs logout command detection control, but since this control is well known, detailed explanation will be omitted.

For example, when a logout command is received, the physical address 51 of the user in the user attribute table 17 is deleted and the current login bit 50 becomes "OFF".

As a result, the current login bit 50 shown in FIG.
The physical address 5'1 is constantly updated with the latest information.

Next, in step 5808, the file management table shown in FIG. Determine whether there are any documents that have not been updated.

This bridge between the user attribute table and the file management table is performed using the extended address 37.45 that exists in both tables. Therefore, if there is a file that has not been notified yet in step 88″09, step 5810
Proceed to generate an unnotified file list.

An example of this unnotified file list is shown in FIG. The format of this unnotified file list is registered in the standard message table 19.
PU10 will fill in the space.

File items include file number, reception time, paper size, resolution, etc.

Since this includes paper size information and resolution information, file processing at the receiving terminal, that is, conversion to screen output information, designation of a shared printer, etc. is possible.

Furthermore, the list generated in step 5811 is passed to the LAN terminal output control section 21 and transmitted to the login user terminal. The physical address 51 written in the user attribute table 17 is used as the receiving address of the transmission list.

Then, in the subsequent step 5812, marking processing is performed in the terminal notification column of the file in the file management table shown in FIG.

Through the above processing, facsimile documents received between the time the user logs out and the time the user logs in next time can be reliably notified to the user at the time of login.

Next, the reception list output control of this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The control shown in FIG. 9 is activated by user login, whereas the control shown in FIG. 10 is activated by a timer interrupt.

Therefore, first, in step S901, it is monitored whether or not a timer interrupt occurs, and when a timer interrupt occurs, it is determined in steps 5902 and 5903 whether the timer interrupt is a print notification interrupt or an all list notification interrupt. .

The print notification interrupt is an interrupt that occurs at a relatively short period, typically a 30-minute period or an hourly period, and the entire list notification interrupt is a periodic interruption that occurs once a day at a fixed time.

Here, in the case of print notification interrupt, step 5902
The process then proceeds to step 5903, and the file management table is searched, and in step 5904, a file with no marking in the print notification 41b in the reception notification marking 41 is checked. As a result, if there are no files without markings, the process ends.

On the other hand, if there is a file without markings, it is further checked in step 5905 whether there is any terminal notification marking 41a. Thereby, it is possible to select a file that has not yet been notified of receipt. and the following step 590
6, use the extended address 37 of this file to refer to the current login 50 in the user attribute table 17,
Check whether there is a logged-in user's file among the selected files. If a login user file exists, the process advances to step 5907, and a terminal output file list shown in FIG. 12 is generated.

Then, in step 5908, the terminal notification field 4 of the file management table is sent to the file in the terminal output file list.
After marking 1a, a file list for each user is sent to the login terminal of each login user in step 5909, and the process proceeds to step 591-0.

On the other hand, if the login user file does not exist in step 5906, the process advances to step 5910.

In step 5910, a print output file list is generated.

An example of this print output file list is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 13, the print output file list is composed of reception notification generation time, destination user, reception time, paper size, and resolution.

By including the paper size information and resolution information in this list, the destination user can know the print output conditions of the file.

In the following step 5911, the print notification column 41b of the file management table of the file in the print output file list is marked, and then in step 5912, the files are outputted all at once to the print server.

As described above, it becomes possible to notify the logged-in user of the received document file to the logged-in terminal, and to notify the logged-out user by outputting from the print server.

On the other hand, if the timer interrupt is a full list notification interrupt, the process advances from step 5913 to step 5914, where the reception time 40 of the file management table is checked. Then, in step 5915, it is checked whether there are any files received within 24 hours from the current time. This is because files that have already been output according to instructions from the destination user are deleted at the time of output, so the files searched and extracted here are files that have not been output for more than 24 hours.

If there is a file that has not been output for more than 24 hours as a result of the search, the process proceeds from step 5915 to step 8916.
, and a 24-hour unoutput file list is generated.

Then, the process advances to step 5912, and a 24-hour unoutput file list is output to the print server.

An example of this 24-hour non-output file list is shown in FIG.

This file format is selected from the standard message table 19, and the configuration items are non-output time period, destination user, reception time, paper size, and resolution.

By the processing described above, all unprinted items once a day can be organized into a list and automatically printed out from a print server or the like, and effective information can be provided to the LAN administrator.

Next, a process for preventing the disk memory 13 from becoming full in this embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing the storage status of the disk, and the lowest level is (Empty), indicating that there is no received file stored in the disk memory 13 in this state. The top level is (Full),
In this state, the received files are stored in the entire capacity of the disk memory 13, indicating that there is no free space. In the middle, a storage level (2) and a storage level (2) are set in advance as storage capacity for management purposes.

Storage level ■ is set near the middle of the storage capacity of the Habo disk, and storage level II is set to the disk (Full).
It is set slightly below. This accumulation level II is
Used as an upper limit for file storage management.

In accordance with this management storage level setting, the difference capacity S2 between the actual received file storage level St and the storage level I is used to perform the fullness prevention process described below.

This full prevention process will be explained below with reference to the flowchart in FIG.

The disk space monitoring unit 16 first performs step 515.
At step 01, all the file sizes 39 in the management table items of the file management section 14 are summed, and the capacity level (size) Sl currently stored on the disk 13 is determined. Then, in the following step 51502, the difference between this Sl and the accumulation level ■ which is the upper limit is calculated, and Sl is the accumulation level I.
It is determined whether or not I has been reached. If the accumulation level ■ has not been reached, the process returns to step 51501.

On the other hand, when the accumulation level H has been reached, the CPU
0, and the processing of CPU10 proceeds to step 51503. The CPU 10 determines the difference between the current size S1 and the storage level E and sets it to size 2. Next, in step 51504, the file management table is searched for the reception time 40, and the oldest file is selected. Then, in step 51505, it is checked whether the file has an extended address with a confidential attribute by referring to 45, 49, etc. in the user attribute table. if,
If the file is treated as confidential, cancel the selection of the file,
Returning to step S1504, the next oldest file is selected.

On the other hand, if the selected file is not treated as confidential, the process advances from step 51505 to step 51506, and the selected file is registered as a print output file. And the following step S150
In step 7, the total registered file capacity is compared with the size S2. If the size S2 has not yet been reached, the process returns to step 51504 to select the next file.

On the other hand, if the total registered file capacity reaches 82, the registration to the print output files has been completed, so the process advances from step S1507 to step S1508, and one file is selected from the print output files. Since the selected file is an MMR compressed image file, in the subsequent step 51509, the MMR companding section 26 executes decompression processing to restore the original image data. The restored image data is stored in the following step 5151.
0, the output is sent to the print server without instructions from the destination user. Then, in step 51511, it is checked whether all the registered files have been output, and if not, the process returns to step 81508, and the above process continues until all the files registered in the print output file are output to the print server. I can continue.

When the output of all the files registered to the print output file is completed, the process moves from step 51511 to step 5151.
In step 2, all the output files are deleted from the disk memory 13 and the process ends.

By the above operation, print output is forced to be executed before the disk memory 13 becomes full with received files.
By setting the registered file amount to be less than or equal to a preset storage amount (storage level I or less), it is possible to prevent memory capacity shortage during storage capacity negotiation with the sending terminal.

Also, in this forced printout, a received file with a confidential attribute is not printed out without the destination user's permission, and confidential information can be prevented from being inadvertently leaked.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, the paper size and resolution parameters can be specified by the shared print server (
For example, since the determination is made based on the attributes of the print server 1o3), there is no possibility of receiving a facsimile document that cannot be printed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the paper size and resolution parameters are determined based on the attributes of the shared printer on the local area network, thereby preventing the reception of facsimile documents that cannot be printed. This has the effect of eliminating unnecessary communication of unprocessable data.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a connected network system according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a facsimile server device of this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a network interface circuit of this embodiment. Figure 4 is a configuration diagram of the file management table of this embodiment, Figure 5 is a configuration diagram of the user attribute table of this embodiment, Figure 6 is a configuration diagram of the shared printer attribute table of this embodiment, and Figure 7 is a configuration diagram of the user attribute table of this embodiment. FIG. 8 is a control flowchart of the network control unit of the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a flowchart of session start control of the embodiment. FIG. A notification control flowchart. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a terminal output file list of this embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a print output file list of this embodiment. Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of a 24-hour non-output file list in this embodiment, Figure 15 is a diagram schematically representing the disk storage status in this embodiment, and Figure 11 is a diagram showing the login command format in this embodiment. The figure shown in FIG. 16 is a flowchart of the full prevention process control of this embodiment. In the figure, 10... CPU, 11... G4 facsimile communication control unit, 12... facsimile buffer memory,
13... Disk memory, 14... File management section, 15... Clock, 16... Disk space monitoring section, 17... User attribute table, 18... Print server attribute table, 19...・Standard message table, 20...Print server output control unit, 21...
LAN terminal non-output control unit, 22...login detection unit,
23... LAN communication control unit, 24... LAN buffer storage, 25... Code-image conversion unit, 26
...MMR companding section, 100...LAN, 101-1
04... Server, 103... Print server, 10
4... File server, 200... Digital public network, 201, 202... Facsimile machine, 300...
- It is a facsimile server device. Figure 3 Figure 5 Figure 7 Figure 8

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Storage means connected to a digital public network and a local area network system and storing receiving function data included in a document command in received data received from a facsimile device connected to the digital public network; a facsimile negotiation method in a facsimile server, comprising: storage means for storing an attribute table of a print server located on a connected local area network; A facsimile negotiation method characterized in that paper size information and resolution information included in the facsimile negotiation method are comprised of parameter values that match the contents stored in the storage means and the contents stored in the storage means.