JPH10117198A - Communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent erroneous distribution and non-distribution by checking whether or not an error is produced by transmitting a test mail to a registered mail address and erasing pertinent table registration information and informing a user of that effect in the case that the error is produced. SOLUTION: The mail address corresponding to sub address information is table-registered to a facsimile equipment. When table registration is ended, whether or not to perform test transmission is inquired to the user through the display part of an operation port 5. Upon performing the test transmission, the test mail of predetermined contents is transmitted to the mail address registered in a table. When the transmission of the test mail is ended, a timer 4 is set and the presence/absence of an error mail is checked after prescribed time. In the case that the error message is present, the facsimile equipment erases the pertinent registration information of the table, adds the sent error mail and performs printing and output as a report.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a function for performing facsimile communication via a public network, a function for performing data communication via a local area network (hereinafter abbreviated as LAN), and a function for receiving facsimile information. A function of registering the correspondence between the detected distribution information and the distribution information on the LAN in a table, and acquiring the corresponding distribution information on the LAN by referring to the table based on the distribution information detected when the facsimile information is received. The present invention relates to a communication device (generally, a facsimile device) having a function of distributing received facsimile information to a destination indicated in obtained distribution information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional technique of this type, distribution information at the time of facsimile transmission is transmitted by a transmission terminal identification signal TSI (Transmitti) in a facsimile communication protocol.
ngStation Identification)
A method of performing distribution by attaching it to a field as additional information is known (US Pat. No. 5,206,743).
etc).

[0003]

When facsimile information received from a public network is delivered to a terminal (personal computer or the like) on a LAN, for example, when facsimile information is received by the G3 facsimile standard and delivered by e-mail, Control information (delivery information) received with the information
From the facsimile apparatus with reference to distribution information (e-mail address) registered as a table in advance. However, since this distribution is performed after the end of G3 facsimile reception, even if G3 facsimile communication is normally completed, due to an error at the time of table registration or inadequate registration information caused when registration information in the table becomes invalid on the way. , There is a possibility that distribution is not performed normally, such as erroneous distribution or non-delivery.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication device capable of preventing erroneous distribution or non-delivery due to an error at the time of table registration. .

It is another object of the present invention to provide a communication device capable of preventing erroneous distribution and non-delivery even when registration information in a table becomes invalid on the way.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a function for performing facsimile communication via a public network, a function for performing data communication via a LAN, A function of registering, in a table, a correspondence between distribution information detected at the time of receiving facsimile information and distribution information on the LAN, and a corresponding distribution on the LAN by referring to the table based on the distribution information detected at the time of receiving the facsimile information Information, and a function of distributing the received facsimile information to the destination indicated by the obtained distribution information.
When the test information is transmitted to the destination indicated in the corresponding distribution information above and error information is transmitted from the LAN in response to the test information, the corresponding distribution information in the table is deleted, and the user is notified of the fact. Is provided.

Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the first aspect, the communication device has a clock function, and the control means periodically distributes the data on the LAN registered in the table. The test information is transmitted to the destination indicated in the information, and when the error information is transmitted from the LAN, the corresponding distribution information in the table is deleted.
This is so notified to the user.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the first or second aspect, when the control means detects distribution information at the time of receiving the facsimile information, the control means is receiving the facsimile information. And obtains the corresponding distribution information on the LAN by referring to the table based on the distribution information, transmits the test information to the destination indicated in the obtained distribution information, and transmits error information from the LAN in response to the test information. When the facsimile information is received, the corresponding delivery information in the table is deleted, the line on which facsimile information is being received is disconnected, and the user is notified of the fact.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a facsimile apparatus as a communication apparatus for realizing each invention of the present application.

In FIG. 1, a CPU (central processing unit) 1
Executes the control processing of the entire facsimile apparatus, and the control means described in each claim of the present application also performs the C processing.
This is realized by executing the processing shown in the flowchart described later by the PU1.

ROM (Read Only Memory) 2
Stores a control processing program executed by the CPU 1 and various data necessary for the control processing. A RAM (random access memory) 3 distributes image data and distribution information according to the present application. It stores table registration data such as a destination mail address. In addition,
The RAM area for storing the registration data is backed up by a battery in order to retain the stored contents even when the power is turned off.

The timer 3 manages time information and a timer period of an interrupt. The operation port 5 stores a key input unit for the user to operate the facsimile apparatus, a message from the facsimile apparatus to the user, and the like. It comprises a liquid crystal display section for displaying.

A modem 6 modulates / demodulates image information and control signals during transmission / reception of G3 facsimile data. An NCU (network control unit) 7 connects to a public telephone network PSTN to communicate with a partner device. It enables G3 facsimile communication and has an automatic calling / receiving function.

The scanner 8 scans a facsimile original at a predetermined resolution to read the image, and performs various kinds of predetermined image processing on the read image.
It records and outputs image data received from another facsimile machine and image data subjected to the image processing at a predetermined resolution.

The external memory 10 is for storing a large amount of image data and the like for memory transmission and the like.
The LAN board 11 connects the facsimile apparatus to the LAN and implements a communication function with other apparatuses on the LAN.

The above-described CPU 1, ROM 2, RAM 3,
Timer 4, operation port 5, modem 6, NCU 7, scanner 8, plotter 9, external memory 10, LAN board 11
Are connected to the system bus 12, and data exchange between these elements is mainly performed through the system bus 12. Data exchange between the modem 6 and the NCU 7 is directly performed. I have.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a system environment to which each invention of the present application is applied.

Referring to FIG. 2, a facsimile apparatus FAX having the above-described configuration according to each invention of the present application is a public telephone network PST.
While connected to N, it is also connected to LAN. This LAN includes a mail server MS, another client terminal (for example, a personal computer) PC
1, PC2,..., PCn are connected.

The facsimile apparatus FAX is transmitted via ITU-T Recommendation T.100 via the PSTN. Facsimile information is received in accordance with the G3 facsimile protocol conforming to the G.30 standard, and based on the received information, the T.30 Recommendation. Sub address information SUB specified in 30
(Delivery information from the transmitting facsimile machine). Then, referring to the table in which the extracted sub-address information SUB and the corresponding mail address (distribution information on the LAN) are registered, the received document is transmitted by e-mail.
Transmit (distribute) on AN.

In this embodiment, the facsimile machine FAX
Uses SMTP (Simple) for e-mail communication.
An e-mail (received document) is sent to the mail server MS according to the procedure of Mail Transfer Protocol (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). Mail server M
S recognizes the transmission address of the e-mail and stores it in the corresponding mailbox. Each client terminal PC
, PCn, a mail tool (e-mail program) is activated by the mail address of the user who has individually logged in, and the POP (Po
(St Office Protocol) 3 to receive a mail addressed to itself from the mail server MS.
Further, a specific mail address is set in the facsimile machine FAX of the present embodiment, and the mail server MS
Will periodically take care of your email.

The mail server MS manages the mail address, and if the address cannot be searched for and resolved,
That is, if an address is searched and no corresponding address is detected, an error mail (MAILE) is sent to the transmission source (the facsimile machine FAX in the case of the operation according to the present invention).
R-DAEMON or User unknown). Although it cannot be guaranteed how long it takes for the address to be resolved, it can usually be expected to be performed in a matter of seconds in consideration of distribution to terminals on the same LAN. However, in the case of a mail address on an external LAN,
This is not the case because the mail goes out of the LAN and it is not even known where the error occurs.

Next, a first embodiment of the processing operation based on the above premise will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 3 shows a processing flow according to the present invention when registering a mail address table.

First, the process waits until the table registration is completed (N loop of decision 101). The user registers the mail address corresponding to the sub-address information SUB in the facsimile machine FAX in a table. Note that the sub address information SU
Instead of B, reception information such as a transmission terminal identification signal TSI may be used. The contents are shown in a table, for example, as shown in FIG. The input method uses the operation port 5, but since it is a facsimile apparatus FAX connected to the LAN, for example, L
It is also conceivable to access and input a facsimile apparatus FAX from another terminal on the AN.

When the user's table registration is completed (Y in decision 101), the user is inquired via the display unit of the operation port 5 as to whether or not to carry out test transmission (decision 102). Judgment 102
N → END). On the other hand, when test transmission is performed (Y in decision 102), a test mail having predetermined contents is transmitted to the mail address registered in the table (process 103). The text of the test mail is, for example, as shown in FIG.

After transmitting the test mail, the timer 4
(Process 104), and wait 10 seconds after the timer is set (N loop of determination 105). Same LAN
If there is an error in the above transmission operation, there is a high possibility that the error will be found within about 10 seconds. After 10 seconds e-mail is received (Y in decision 105 → process 106), and the presence or absence of an error mail is checked (decision 107). If the address of the test mail has not been resolved on the mail server MS, an e-mail notifying an error as shown in FIG. 6 will be received. FIG. 6 shows only a part of the header information of the error mail.

The determination as to whether or not the mail is an error mail is particularly underlined in the header information shown in FIG. 6 (From: Ma).
il Delivery Subsystem <MAI
LER-DAEMON @ msserv. toda. ric
oh. co. jp> and Subject: Return
Judgment is made based on ed mail: User unknown. Fax machine FAX when there is an error mail
Deletes the corresponding registration information in the table (Y in decision 107 → process 108) and prints out a report as shown in FIG. 7 with the transmitted error mail attached (process 109). As a means for notifying the user, a method of setting a mail address of a user to be notified and transferring an error mail to the mail address is also conceivable.

Thereafter, mail is collected periodically (as usual, or at intervals of several minutes) (Y in decision 110 →
Process 106), a specified time registered in advance (1 in the above case)
It is assumed that address resolution can be expected in about 0 seconds, but this is not a guarantee, so monitoring is performed up to, for example, one hour (N in decision 110 → N loop in decision 111).

As described above, at the end of table registration, a test mail is transmitted to the registered mail address to check whether an error occurs. If an error occurs, the corresponding table registration information is deleted. With
Since the report of the error occurrence is output to the user, the user who sees this report should recognize the error when registering the table, correct the error of the e-mail address to be registered, and register again correctly Can be. Therefore,
Erroneous distribution or undelivered due to an error at the time of table registration can be prevented.

Next, the processing operation of the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart in FIG. 8 shows a processing flow that is periodically and repeatedly executed by a timer interrupt. In addition,
The processing operation at the time of registering the table is the same as in the above embodiment.

In this embodiment, the mail server MS
The facsimile apparatus FAX monitors the time information measured by the timer 4 in consideration of the information change in the server, and transmits a test mail regularly (for example, every day at midnight) according to the contents of the table even during the normal operation. (Step 201). The contents of the test mail are the same as those in FIG. 4 shown in the above-described embodiment, and the processing after transmission of the test mail is also the same as in the above-described embodiment.

That is, when the transmission of the test mail is completed, the timer 4 is set (step 202), and after the timer is set, it waits for 10 seconds to elapse (N loop of the judgment 203). After 10 seconds, the electronic mail is collected (Y in decision 203 → process 204), and the presence or absence of an error mail is checked (decision 205). If the address of the test mail has not been settled on the mail server MS, an e-mail notifying the error as shown in FIG. 6 will be received.

If there is an error mail, as described above, the facsimile machine FAX deletes the corresponding registration information from the table (Y in decision 205 → process 20).
6) The attached error mail is attached and printed out as a report as shown in FIG. 7 (process 207).

Thereafter, mail is periodically collected (Y in decision 208 → process 204), and monitoring is performed until a predetermined time registered in advance (N in decision 208 → N in decision 209).
loop).

As described above, in consideration of the possibility of information change in the mail server MS, the test mail is periodically transmitted to the mail server MS even during the normal operation, and the registered contents in the table contain errors. It is confirmed that no error has occurred, and if there is an error, the element is deleted and the user is notified, so even if an element in the table becomes invalid, incorrect distribution or Delivery can be prevented beforehand.

Next, the processing operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart in FIG. 9 shows a processing flow according to the present invention when facsimile information is received. The processing operations at the time of registering the table and at the time of the normal operation are the same as those in the embodiment.

In this embodiment, when the facsimile machine FAX detects the sub-address information SUB from the received information at the time of G3 facsimile reception (Y in decision 301),
Immediately, that is, during reception, a test mail is transmitted to the destination mail address corresponding to the received sub-address information SUB with reference to the table (process 302). The contents of the test mail are as shown in FIG. 4 shown in the embodiment.

When the transmission of the test mail is completed, the timer 4 is set (process 303) as in the above embodiment, and after the timer is set, it waits for 10 seconds to elapse (N loop of determination 304). After 10 seconds, the electronic mail is collected (Y in decision 304 → process 305), and the presence or absence of an error mail is checked (decision 306). If the address of the test mail has not been settled on the mail server MS, an e-mail notifying the error as shown in FIG. 6 will be received.

If there is an error mail, the facsimile machine FAX deletes the corresponding registration information from the table (Y in decision 306 → process 307) and checks whether the facsimile reception state is continuing (decision 30).
8). If the reception state continues, the line is forcibly disconnected immediately and the communication is terminated with an error (Y in decision 308 → process 309). And if the communication is terminated with an error,
The report is printed out as shown in FIG.
0).

As described above, when the sub address information (delivery information) SUB is detected at the time of facsimile reception in consideration of the possibility of information change in the mail server MS, the mail server MS is immediately (received) to the mail server MS. A test transmission is performed to confirm that there is no error in the registered contents in the table. If there is an error, the element is deleted, the line is disconnected, and the user is notified. Even when a certain element is invalidated, erroneous distribution or non-delivery can be prevented.

Further, in the present embodiment, during the time interval of the test mail transmission periodically performed in the second embodiment, the facsimile is performed on the table element invalidated due to the information change in the mail server MS. It is possible to cope with such a case.

In each of the above embodiments, the case where each invention of the present application is applied to a facsimile apparatus has been described.
The same effect as described above can be obtained by applying the present invention to a device equipped with a modem so that facsimile communication can be performed in addition to data communication as a communication device.

In each of the above embodiments, the facsimile apparatus connected to the public telephone network PSTN has been described as a public network, but the present invention is also applicable to a facsimile apparatus connected to an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network).

[0044]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a function for performing facsimile communication via a public network, a function for performing data communication via a LAN, and a function for detecting when facsimile information is received. A function of registering the correspondence between the distribution information to be transmitted and the distribution information on the LAN in a table, and acquiring the corresponding distribution information on the LAN by referring to the table based on the distribution information detected when the facsimile information is received; Having the function of distributing the received facsimile information to the destination indicated by the obtained distribution information, and transmitting the test information to the destination indicated by the corresponding distribution information on the registered LAN at the time of registering the table; LA
If error information is sent from N, control means for deleting the corresponding distribution information in the table and notifying the user to that effect is provided. There is an effect that can be prevented.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 2, the communication device according to claim 1 has a clock function,
The control means periodically transmits the test information to the destination indicated in the distribution information on the LAN registered in the table, and when error information is sent from the LAN to the test information, Since the corresponding distribution information in the table is deleted and the user is notified to that effect, the same effect as in claim 1 is obtained, and it is periodically checked whether there is an invalid element in the table. Since the inspection is performed, even if an element in the table becomes invalid after registration, there is an effect that erroneous distribution and undelivery can be prevented.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the first or second aspect, when the control means detects distribution information when facsimile information is received, the control means receives the facsimile information. In the meantime, the corresponding distribution information on the LAN is acquired by referring to the table based on the distribution information, and the test information is transmitted to the destination indicated in the obtained distribution information. When the message is sent, the corresponding distribution information in the table is deleted, and the line receiving the facsimile information is disconnected, and the user is notified of the fact. In addition to this, it is possible to check for invalid elements in the table during facsimile reception over the public network, so that the elements in the table become invalid after registration. If Tsu was like also, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent the mis-delivery or non-delivery.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a facsimile apparatus as a communication apparatus for realizing each invention of the present application.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a system environment to which each invention of the present application is applied.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of a table in which the association of distribution information is registered.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a test mail.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of header information of an error mail.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a report output.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a report output according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 RAM 4 Timer 5 Operation port 6 Modem 7 NCU 8 Scanner 9 Plotter 10 External memory 11 LAN board FAX Facsimile machine MS Mail server PC1-PCn Client terminal

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A function for performing facsimile communication via a public network, a function for performing data communication via a local area network, distribution information detected when facsimile information is received, and distribution on a local area network A function of registering the correspondence with the information in a table, and, based on the distribution information detected at the time of receiving the facsimile information, acquiring the corresponding distribution information on the local area network by referring to the table, and obtaining the obtained distribution. And a function of distributing the received facsimile information to the destination indicated in the information.
The test information is transmitted to the destination indicated in the corresponding distribution information on the network, and when error information is transmitted from the local area network, the corresponding distribution information in the table is deleted. And a control unit for notifying the user of the fact. 2. A control device having a clock function, wherein the control means periodically transmits test information to a destination indicated in distribution information on the local area network registered in the table, and 2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when error information is sent from the local area network, the corresponding distribution information in the table is deleted and the user is notified of the deletion. 3. When the control unit detects distribution information at the time of receiving facsimile information, the control unit refers to the table based on the distribution information during reception of the facsimile information, and displays the corresponding distribution information on the local area network. And transmits the test information to the destination indicated in the obtained distribution information. When error information is transmitted from the local area network, the corresponding distribution information in the table is deleted. 3. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising disconnecting the line receiving the facsimile information and notifying the user of the disconnection.