JPH10215330A - Method for routing message to plural equipments and system therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To route a digital message to plural transmission destination terminals and to route it to a part of the plural transmission destination terminals by generating the digital message provided with the identifiers of the plural transmission destination terminals. SOLUTION: A user is urged to input the information of whether or not the user intends to successively route the message to the telephone numbers of the transmission destination terminals 50-53 or a transmission destination server 30 or the respective identifiers of the transmission destination terminals 50-53. A transmission origin terminal 10 prepares the information of a result checked by the user and generates a facsimile message. The transmission origin terminal 10 generates the message provided with a symbol '+' or the like automatically inserted by the transmission origin terminal so as to respectively discriminate one or the other part of a TSI(terminal identifier) field and the identifier inputted by the user. The message is tentatively sent from the transmission origin terminal 10 to the transmission destination server 30 and the transmission destination server 30 routes the copy of the message corresponding to the transmission destination terminals 50-53.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and a system for routing messages to a plurality of devices for routing facsimile messages from a source terminal to a plurality of destination terminals via a network server.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Although facsimile machines are well-positioned in the development of computers and wireless communications networks, the problem is still how to integrate paper-based relics. It is in the point. In the facsimile art, progress has been made to allow facsimile transmission to a specific destination terminal in the local network, while transmitting multiple facsimile copies to one or more terminals requires:
Many times, the operator is requested to make a selection at each facsimile transmission time, and the selection is extremely difficult to handle. Normal facsimile machines operate as point-to-point communication means. A single document may be transmitted from a source facsimile machine to a plurality of facsimile machines, each of which may occur several times, but each time it is required to divide and use the telephone line of the public switched telephone network. ing. Traditionally, two facsimile machines, transmitting and receiving, communicate via a telephone connection in a telephone switching network by direct dialing. The source facsimile dials the telephone number of the destination facsimile machine to initiate a connection between the two facsimile machines. The telephone line rings the destination facsimile machine, and the connection is completed when the destination facsimile machine selects the telephone line. The two facsimile machines then exchange handshake information, and then the facsimile image is transmitted to the destination terminal. The handshake information includes a terminal station identifier (TSI) field, which is used to notify the destination facsimile apparatus of the identifier of the source facsimile apparatus.

[0003] Due to the limitations of the traditional background technology as described above, users of destination and source terminals are interested in touching individual facsimile machines,
In addition, it is desirable that the destination facsimile apparatus provide service using the provided telephone line. The inventor uses a user called a "user's friend" to enable a facsimile machine to communicate with other terminals using each resource of the network and to allow a user to easily send a message to a plurality of destination terminals. Determined the need to deploy an interface. Information on recent network technologies can be transmitted by dividing a small number of selected telephone lines, for example, by using a facsimile machine or a facsimile card, or by using a computer or by using a data communication network capable of receiving image information. It is shown that a plurality of terminals are used, and this is considered to solve some of the problems described above. The technique also involves the user accessing by first dialing the telephone number of the destination server, and the source terminal being connected to the destination server via a telephone switching network line. Once the telephone number is dialed, the source terminal can provide a facsimile message in digital format to the destination server. However, the destination server preferentially checks the routing address of the destination terminal that is the final destination, so that the destination terminal knows that the facsimile is to be routed to itself. The "intelligent" destination server obtains the address of the destination terminal using software capable of extracting the routing address from the incoming facsimile message.

With the development of facsimile apparatuses, facsimile message protocols, intelligent servers, and the like, a part of a facsimile message generated by a source facsimile terminal may include a "subaddress" as a routing address, for example. It is now possible. As an example of a new technology using a subaddress field, US Pat. No. 5,206,743 includes a subaddress of 5 out of 20 characters in a terminal identifier field of a facsimile message sent from a source terminal. A method is disclosed. The terminal identifier field of 20 characters corresponds to the CCITT G3 standard (Com
item Consultatif International
online de Telegraphique et
This is based on Telephoneque Group 3). This subaddress, like other information, is inserted by the operator at the source facsimile machine.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

A first problem with the use of the above subaddress is that, as the present inventor has recognized, facsimile can be delivered to only one of the destination terminals identified in the terminal identifier field. A second problem with the use of subaddresses described above is that they require the operator to enter long code words. Long codewords are difficult for the user and too long to display on the display of the facsimile machine. In particular, the operator can control sub-address suffixes and unique '#' and '*' symbols etc. in the code word with a general space to distinguish the sub-address from the destination telephone number and other fields of the message. You must enter a continuous character string that contains the symbol. In such an operation method, the user must memorize a long character string to generate a code word, and also need to accurately memorize a position of the code word in which the control symbol is inserted. Furthermore, if the memory capacity of the display of the facsimile machine is smaller than the code word, the user has to re-enter the rest of the code word, since part of the code word will be removed from the display screen. The user cannot see all the character strings already input at once.

[0006] The NOVEL company has defined the NEST automatic routine code, 995 NovelLinc. Part
No. 106-000644-001 is related to NetWa
re version 4.1 is on sale. NetWare
Version 4.1 is software that is generated as a NEST automatic routine code and is as long as the input message and is provided to a destination server that uses an input facsimile message that routes to one destination terminal. The NEST automatic routine code requires the originating terminal to generate a continuous string of characters forming the codeword, as described in connection with US Pat. No. 5,206,743. The code word contains a unique symbol used to distinguish between the subaddress and the destination telephone number. The destination server includes the subaddress in the "identification number" for uniquely identifying the destination terminal.
"Identification number" is Internet Protocol (IP)
It is not a general-purpose address such as an address or an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) address. While facsimile machines conforming to the CCITT G3 format are generally applicable to NetWare version 4.1, they are extremely inconvenient because the operator of the source facsimile needs to learn code words. Novell NetWare software may also provide the source terminal with a "polling" configuration that allows remote access to data files or facsimile messages sent from the destination terminal or one of the destination servers. it can. The inventor has
As a first problem with the polling scheme, we recognize that remote facsimile terminals do not provide a convenient way to utilize the polling structure. Also, the same problem that the present inventor has recognized is that the polling scheme does not allow the source terminal to provide the destination server with a list of addresses of the destination terminal.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide an important method and system for routing digital messages that solves the problems of the method and system described above. Further, the second aspect of the present invention
The purpose of this is to route a digital message to multiple destination terminals, where the source terminal routes the digital message to the user and, if necessary, one of them. That is, only the destination terminal of the unit is requested to perform routing. Further, a third object of the present invention is to provide a method and system that can obtain from the destination terminal a list of addresses of the destination terminal that may be used by the source terminal to generate the digital message. Is to do. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and system for translating a plurality of subaddresses into Internet Protocol addresses of each destination terminal.

[0008]

The above objects are achieved by a new system and method for generating a digital facsimile message containing a plurality of identifiers corresponding to a destination terminal. The destination server extracts the identifier,
To route multiple electronic copies of the message to each destination terminal identified by the identifier in the facsimile message, the facsimile message is first
Sent to the destination server. Sending a message so that the user enters information about whether or not the message is intended to be routed to one or more destination terminals, or to the telephone number (fax number) of the destination server, or to each identifier of the destination terminal in turn. Prompt the user from the former terminal. The source terminal prepares information on the result of the user's investigation and generates a facsimile message conforming to the CCITT G3 facsimile standard. In this way, the source terminal is automatically entered by the source terminal or entered by the user to distinguish one or the other part of the TSI (terminal identifier) field. A message including a terminal identifier including the identified identifier is generated. The generated message is temporarily sent from the source terminal to the destination server. The destination server then extracts the identifier, translates the identifier into a corresponding network and / or IP address, and routes a copy of the message corresponding to the destination terminal. IP
The address causes the destination server to route the message to a destination terminal located on the network or on the network specifically provided by the destination server.

The system and method of the present invention has the function of generating a polling message having the function of bringing a file or facsimile message from one or more destination terminals or destination servers. One form of polling message is a request message formed as a facsimile message or an Internet message. The content of the request message is
This is to request delivery of a list of destination terminals provided by the destination server. The destination server returns a response message including the ordered list in response to the request message. After receiving the list, the source terminal displays each entry in the list and prompts the user to select from the list entries. The source terminal automatically generates a facsimile message that can identify the entry selected at the corresponding position in the list based on the selected entry. As a result, the four destination terminals can selectively receive copies of the facsimile message. It should be noted that the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for forming a message including a subaddress 08 / 655,079 June-5,1996.
Also includes the matters disclosed in the above.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital communication system 100 showing one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to the figures, there are shown reference numerals designating the same or different functional units throughout the figures. The digital communication system 100 includes the same source terminal 10 as the facsimile-type FAX 2700 of Ricoh Co., Ltd.
00, a plurality of destination terminals 50 to
AST Bravo LC 4 capable of routing digital facsimile messages to
/ 66d includes a destination terminal 50 such as a personal computer. The source terminal 10 is a facsimile machine composed of a combination of a scanner and a computer, or is a single computer provided with, for example, a data file selectively. The source terminal 10 is connected to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 20 including an analog circuit 21, an analog exchange 23 and a second analog line 22 via the analog line 21. The destination server 30 is, for example, a NEST automatic route code specification, 1995 Novell.
It includes, for example, a workstation using software for managing a NetWare version 4.1 network such as company part number 106-000644-001 and is connected to the PSTN 20 via a second analog line 22. On the other side, the destination server 30 is connected to the data communication network 40 (for example, the local network (L
AN) or wide area network (WAN)). The network 40 and NetWare software used by the destination server 30
TT G3 fax protocol and CCITT G
T.3 It conforms to the sub-address format of the 30 fax protocol. The network 40 is a network
Terminal A5 via the set of nodes 32, 33, 34, 35
0, terminal B51, terminal C52, and terminal D53 (for example, a computer, a printer, another facsimile machine,
Routers, switches, access points to other networks, or ATM devices).

FIG. 2 shows the electronic part 10 A of the destination terminal 10.
(The configuration in FIG. 2 also shows an example of the configuration of the destination server 30 and the terminals A to D (50 to 53).) The electronic part 10A connects the various components arranged on the system bus 270 to the system bus 270.
Contains. The central processing unit (CPU) 205
One component placed on the bus,
, And also has a bus management function of the system bus 270. The CPU 205 has a random access memory (RAM) 295 for temporary storage.
A non-volatile read only memory (ROM) 290 for storing programs and parameters; and an application integrated circuit (A) for specially handling data.
SIC) 285 can be used. The ASIC 285 selectively provides a field programmable gate array (F).
Replaced or increased by other data handling devices such as other processing units such as PGAs (not shown), programmable logic devices (PLDs) (not shown) and digital signal processing chips (not shown). it can. Also,
Those usable as system resources include a disk controller 255 for controlling the internal floppy drive 250 and the hard disk 265, and an input / output (I / O) controller 225 for controlling the external hard disk 230 and the printer 242.

The external printer 242 or the internal printer 245 is used by the source terminal 10 for printing text and outputting a data file. Electronic part 10
A also shows internal scanner 284, additional external scanner 2
83, an input controller 2 for controlling an external keyboard 282, an external mouse 281, and an internal keypad 275
80. Under input controller 280, internal scanner 284 or external scanner 283 acquires an image of the document of interest, converts the image into a digital data stream, returns input controller 280, and further via system bus 270. Used for processing. Input controller 280 also receives input from keypad 275 and is provided as a data input device for source terminal 10, and keyboard 280 and mouse 281 are provided as optional input devices. Display controller 210
Is used to control either an external cathode ray tube (CRT) display 215 or an internal liquid crystal display (LCD) 220. As other display device forms, a plasma display, an active or passive LED display unit, or the like can be applied. Keypad 275, keyboard 28
2, and the display 21 connected in series to the mouse 281
5 and 220 provide the functionality of the user interface. The communication controller 250 is also connected to the system bus 27.
0 and connected to the external network 240 and the external (or internal) PSTN connection 241. The connection to the network 240 is established by the source terminal 1
0 interface matches the model of the network. The PSTN connection 241 is rather an RJ-11 connection, the other connections being Integrated Services Data Network (ISDN) line connections, broadband ISDN
(B-ISDN) Possible as circuit connection and connection for wireless access provider.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the display 220 and the keypad 275 of the source terminal. The keypad 275
It consists of two numeric keypads, including a start key 276 and a stop key 277. Since the data input from the keypad by the user is reflected on the display 220,
The user can know the input time at any time. In addition, the display 220 also allows the user to enter specific information at a specific time, and also displays the text generated by the source terminal 10. For example, in FIG. 3, the display 220 allows the user to enter a '1' when the user wants to route the message to at least one terminal, and to enter a '0' when choosing not to route the message to at least one terminal. Encourage them to do so. At other times, other messages are displayed.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart when a user inputs information to the keypad 275 of FIG. 3 in order to generate a message to be routed to at least one of the destination terminals 50 to 53 of FIG. In step S1, the process is started, and the transmission source terminal 10
The user is asked above whether he wants to send a copy of the original document to at least one terminal. In step S3, it is determined whether or not the transmission source terminal 10 has received a positive response. If the answer is negative in step S3, the process proceeds to step S11, and the transmission source terminal 10 prompts the user to press a start key 276 in FIG. 3 and then input a telephone number. However, if the response in step S3 is positive, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, the source terminal 10 prompts the user to input the identifier of the first destination terminal after the symbol *. Alternatively, it is possible to process with other symbol characters including '#'.

As shown in FIG. 4, the selective processing (as described in FIG. 11) and the processing represented by the letter 'A' lead to step S5. After the user inputs the symbol '*', the process proceeds to step S7, and the source terminal 10 sends the symbol '*' and / or '#' to the user so that all the destination terminals can be identified at one time. Prompt for the next destination terminal identifier after entering '. After the user has entered each character on the keypad 275 of FIG. 2, the process proceeds to step S9, where an inquiry is made as to whether the symbol '#' has been received. If the response in step S9 is negative, the process returns to step S7, and the user continues to input characters in response to the message. If the question in step S9 is positive, the process proceeds to step S11, in which the transmission source terminal 10 presses the start key 276 in FIG. 3 to the user and then inputs the telephone number of the transmission destination server 30 in FIG. Encourage them to After the user presses the start key 276, the process proceeds to step S13, and the transmission source terminal 10 prepares a TSI (terminal identifier) field (detailed in FIGS. 5A to 5C). After step S13, the process proceeds to step S15, where the source terminal 10 sends a facsimile message including the TSI field to the destination server 30, and ends the process. In this way, the user can try to enter the requested data step by step. In this way, the user does not need to enter a unique code for the destination telephone number (50-53 shown in FIG. 1) or a stored long codeword such as the subaddress of the terminal, No need to send facsimile messages.

FIG. 5A shows that before the source terminal 10 sends a facsimile message,
6 is a time sequence chart of a data field input to the data input device. FIG. 5B is a related diagram showing an example of a data value (Data Values) corresponding to the data field of FIG. 5A. Data field 501 (of FIG. 5A)
Is at least 1 as described in step S1 of FIG.
Prompting the user to enter a '1' or '0' to indicate that a facsimile message is to be sent to the two destination terminals and responding (yes) or (n)
Wait for the value of o). As shown in FIG. 5B, a typical data field 515 has a value '1' indicating that the user enters at least one destination terminal identifier. The data field 503 of FIG. 5A has a first identifier 'ID # 1' corresponding to the first destination terminal to which the facsimile message is routed. Similarly, the data fields 505, 507, 509 each have an identifier of the destination terminal 2, 3, 4 for selectively receiving a copy of the facsimile message by the user of the source terminal 10. If the user selects fewer than four destination terminals, the fields corresponding to data fields 505, 507, 509 are excluded from the data fields of FIG. 5A.

The data value corresponding to the identifier in the data field 503 in FIG. 5A is the numeral string '2222 *' in FIG. 5B.
As element 517. Numeric string '22
22 * 'indicates the identifier of the first terminal A after' * 'to complete the identification of the destination terminal (as'2222', as in the extended telephone of the user of terminal A). Identified). By including the symbol '*',
A variable length identifier is used to identify each destination terminal. Similarly, data field 50 of FIG.
5, 507 and 508 are also data fields 51 of FIG. 5B.
9, 521, 523 respectively. In the data field 523, the final symbol is '#', which is attempted by the source terminal 10 to indicate that the user has entered all the desired identifiers of the destination terminal,
Symbol '#' entered by the user. The data structure of FIG. 5A also includes data fields 511 and 513. These are data representing the telephone number of the destination server 30 and the content of the facsimile message, respectively. Associated with the data fields 511 and 513 of FIG. 5A are the digit strings stored in the fields 525 and 527 of FIG. 5B. The specific numeric string stored in the data field 525 indicates that the user has entered the message '888-555.
It indicates that the user wants to send to the destination server having the telephone number of -1212 '. Similarly, the first six bits of the data of the facsimile message are indicated in the data field 527 as '101010'. 5A and 5
B, based on the data input, the source terminal 1
0 includes data field 530 (separated by four symbols '#') 555, 557, 559, 561 20
Generate a G3-TSI field 553 for the character. The data fields 555, 557, 559, and 561 correspond to the data fields 517, 519, and 52 in FIG. 5B, respectively.
1,523 correspond to the identifier part of the destination terminal.

In FIG. 5C, each of the symbols '#' 530 (suitably the same non-numeric symbol as the '*' symbol) is the identifier of the destination terminal identified by the user as the recipient of the facsimile message. Are distinguished from each other in outline. While the identifier of each destination terminal 50-53 (FIG. 1) is shown as a four digit identifier,
The data fields and procedures described with respect to FIG. 4 serve as identifiers for identifying different lengths and different numbers. However, rather, the TSI field is
It is limited to 20 characters (30 bytes) configured according to the CCITT G3 facsimile standard. However, in practice, long, non-canonical fields are often used. TSI
In one embodiment of the present invention, the field has been removed from the telephone number of the source terminal 10, even though the field is used in general systems that include the telephone number of the source terminal 10. Because the telephone number is used through the PSTN 20 (FIG. 1), the telephone provider (ID caller C
The resource is used by the destination server 30 as a resource to be used by the destination server 30 (as an “all'ID”). After all, all 20 characters are used in the present invention to identify each destination terminal. As an alternative for identifying each of the destination terminals 50 to 53 using a four-digit identifier (for example, an extension telephone serving the terminal A50), 30 bytes can be sufficiently used effectively and 30 bytes can be used. If a data compression technique that sufficiently approaches the amount of information in the TSI field is used instead, the user of the source terminal can use a facsimile
The number of candidates for the destination terminal that instructs each copy of the message can be gradually increased.

Although FIG. 5C shows the element 530 as the symbol '#', the symbol '+' is often used as part of the CCITT G3 format. This is because facsimile machines such as Ricoh's Facsimile 2700 simply convert '*' or '#' to '+' symbol on a 12 digit keypad. in this way,
The symbol 530 in FIG. 5C is also replaced by a '+' symbol.
Once the TSI field has been transmitted, the destination server 20 (FIG. 1) receives the TSI field 553 via the PSTN 20 and converts the received TSI field into an RA.
M (or other suitable memory), as well as facsimile messages. The destination server 30 sequentially checks the terminal identifiers 555 and 5 shown in FIG. 5C.
57, 559, and 561 are each replaced with each destination terminal 50 in FIG.
Are converted to network addresses corresponding to .about.53.
Each of these network addresses includes an Internet Protocol (IP) address for each terminal. Later, destination server 30 generates separate messages composed of the appropriate network protocol and routes each message to a separate destination terminal 50-53. Once all the message information is transmitted from the source terminal 10 to the destination server 30, the destination server 30 checks the destinations of the terminals 50 to 53 and calls each terminal.

FIG. 6 shows that the destination server 30 stores each identifier (503, 505, 507, 509 in FIG. 3) and each message data 513 (FIG. 5) in each of the destination terminals 50-53.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart for converting to a network address such as an IP address used for routing to FIG. In FIG. 6, the processing is performed in step S21.
The destination server 30 receives a facsimile message from the source terminal 10 and
Store the message in RAM (or other suitable memory). Once stored, the process proceeds to step S23, where the CPU of the destination server 30
3 is analyzed, and the identifiers 555, 557, and 55 of each terminal are analyzed.
After extracting 9,561 (FIG. 5C), it is determined whether the facsimile message should be copied to another destination terminal. When the TSI field is analyzed in step S23, the process proceeds to step S25, and it is determined whether or not the destination terminals 50 to 53 other than the destination server 30 are requested in the TSI field 553 (FIG. 5C). If the decision result in the step S25 is negative, a step S2 is executed.
7, the facsimile message is sent to the source terminal 10
Along with the time tag and message identifier of the hard disk (see the hard disk 265 in FIG. 2). Further, in step S27, the facsimile message is printed by a printer similar to the printer 242 in FIG. 2, and the process ends.

However, if the decision result in the step S25 is affirmative, the process proceeds to a step S29 in which the identifiers 555, 557, 559, 561 of the respective destination terminals are determined.
(See FIG. 5C) are extracted and stored separately in RAM. When the extraction is performed, the destination server 30 sends the extracted message identifier and the IP address (or ATM address or other information including an appropriate extended network) stored in a lookup table in a memory in the destination server 30. Network address), and recognizes that it is a single IP address that matches the target identifier. If the IP address is the identifier 555, 557, 559,
If the destination server 30 recognizes each of the received facsimile messages, the process proceeds to step S33, and the destination server 30 executes the process to route each copy of the received facsimile message to the identified destination terminals 50 to 53. Generate a network header. The protocol of the message header is
There is no conflict with Novell's Ethernet 40 (see FIG. 1) or other networks where the destination server 30 is located. After the message header is generated in step S33, the process proceeds to step S35, where the destination server 30 transmits each copy of the facsimile message to the destination terminals 50 to 53 according to the distinction specified by the source terminal 10. I do. The process ends when each of the copies has been transmitted.

FIG. 7 shows at least one destination terminal 50 generated by a source terminal 10 according to another embodiment of the present invention.
53 is a flowchart of a method of a polling request to the ５３53. The polling request is a special message for inquiring whether each of the terminals 50 to 53 transmits a message to the transmission source terminal 10 via the transmission destination server 30, and the transmission source terminal 10 It is determined whether or not the terminals 50 to 53 have a message to be sent to the terminal 10. The polling request message is similar to the routing message described in the first embodiment, but additional fields 815, 8 as discussed with respect to FIG.
17, 830, two omitted data fields and a data field 561. The process in FIG. 7 is started in step S40, and the transmission source terminal 10 prompts the user for a message indicating whether to poll at least one transmission destination terminal. In the display of the prompt message for the user, a special symbol (for example, numeral 2) indicating whether the user wants to poll at least one of the destination terminals 50 to 53 is inserted. After the user inputs a response in step S40, the process proceeds to step S42, and determines whether the user has requested to generate a polling message. If step S42
If the response is negative, the process proceeds to step S50 to prompt the user to input a telephone number after pressing a start key in order to start a typical facsimile operation. However, if the response in step S42 is affirmative, the source terminal 10 sends the first identifier after the symbol '*' to indicate to the user that a complete identifier has been entered.
Is prompted to enter the identifier of the destination terminal.
After receiving '*', the process proceeds to step S46,
The source terminal 10 prompts the user to enter the next destination terminal identifier after the symbol '*' and / or '#' once all the destination terminals have been identified.

When each symbol is input in step S46, the process returns to step S48, and the user continues inputting additional information. However, if the response in step S48 is positive, the identifiers of all the destination terminals are input by the user, and the process proceeds to step S50. In step S50, the transmission source terminal 10 prompts the user to input the telephone number of the transmission destination server 30 after pressing the start key 276 (see FIG. 3). When the user presses start key 276, the process proceeds to step S52, and source terminal 10 prepares the TSI field of the polling request message. Source terminal 10 has TSI field 5
When 53 is completely prepared, the process proceeds to step S54, and the source terminal 10 sends a polling request to the destination server 30. When the polling request is sent, the process proceeds to step S55, in which the source terminal 10 waits and then receives a response from the destination server 30, and the terminals 50 to 53
Has been delivered and the process ends.

FIG. 8A is a time sequence chart of a segmented data field input to the transmission source terminal by the user, and generates a polling request message to the selected transmission destination terminals 50 to 53 and performs a polling request message before routing. Will be FIG. 8A shows the data field 80 entered.
1,503,505,507,509,511,513
Contains. Only the data field 801 differs from that shown in FIG. 5A,
Indicates a polling message, indicates a facsimile message to be sent to at least one destination terminal, or includes any selected one of normal facsimile transmissions. Similarly, FIG. 8B is the same as FIG. 5B except for the data field 815,
The data field 815 contains the number 2 which is a response indicating the user's polling request message. Similarly, FIG. 8C includes a data field 830,
Numeral 30 includes two unique codes indicating the destination server 30 to which the polling request has been made. In response, the destination server 30 is arranged to generate an appropriate polling request. Further, FIG. 8C removes the data field 561 because the additional symbols in the data field 830 are a total of 21 characters beyond the 20 character limit imposed by the CCITT G3 standard. is there. In response to receiving the TSI field 853 of FIG. 8C, the destination server 30 uses the NetWare version 4.1 software (or corresponding commercial or general application software) used by the destination server 30 to complete the polling request. ), The necessary polling request message addressed to each of the terminals 50 to 53 is generated.

The above description of the polling request in the embodiment of the present invention (along with the destination server 30)
While intended to make multiple polling requests from 0-53, this structure is clearly also useful for shaping other aspects of the polling operation. In particular, the structure includes a requesting source (in this case, source terminal 10),
It can be used for multiple terminals on routing, multiple document retrieval, and other functions. In another embodiment of the present invention, analog lines 21 and 22 are connected to North A
If one replaces the narrowband improved mobile telephone system (N-AMPS) cellular channel wireless communication channel of the type used in the merica cellular telephone communication system,
It is the same as the first and second embodiments. However, other wireless communication channels are suitable to include mobile communications (GSM), personal communication services (PCS), cordless telephone channels, digital cellular channels, and the like. In the present embodiment, the destination server 30 and / or the other source terminal 10 are equipped with a wireless modem for replacing the analog lines 22 and 21 of FIG. Also, the PSTN shown in FIG.
The connection 241 is a wireless modem connection in the present embodiment.

The fourth embodiment of the present invention relates to a communication system 900 in which a source terminal 10 is connected to a network 920 as shown in FIG. Specifically, the source terminal 10 is connected to the network 920 via the node 930 or the source server 500 is connected to the network 920 via the node 940 connected to the network 920, respectively.
Is joined to. The transmission source server 500 is connected to the analog line of the PSTN network 23 described in FIG. 1 or the wireless channel described in the third embodiment. The telephone numbers and the respective identifiers of the target destination terminals 50 to 53 are input to the source terminal 10, and the routing and polling request messages described in the other embodiments described above are used. However, in contrast to other embodiments, the destination server telephone number, TSI field and facsimile data generated by source terminal 10 are routed to source server 910 via node 930 and network 920 for transmission. Former server 9
10 then sends the source network message to the PS
The TN 20 (or a wireless channel or a data communication network or the like) is converted into a format suitable for transmission. The source server 910 includes a modem pool (puddle) including a number of modems. Communication system 90
0, the destination terminal 50
May also include one or more terminals of network 920 (eg,
The source terminal 10) can be polled.

The fifth embodiment of the present invention relates to a communication system 1000 shown in FIG. 10, in which a transmission source terminal 10 is connected to both a PSTN 20 and an intermediate network 1003 via a network line 1001. Have been. More specifically, the source terminal 10
Is connected to the destination server 30 via the PSTN 20 or a network line 1001 (for example, an appropriate line such as an ISDN or a microwave link) and communicates by using one of the connections of the intermediate network 1003. It is arranged to be able to. Further, the intermediate network 1003 is connected to another communication line 10
05 is connected to the transmission destination server 30. Another feature of the communication system 1000 is the communication system 1 of FIG.
00 (similar to the communication system 900 in FIG. 9). Selective communication channels (links 1001, 1005 and intermediate network 100
By giving 3), the source terminal 10 and the destination server 30 can perform the PS from the source terminal 10 to the source terminal 30.
To facilitate facsimile communication via TN20,
Communication can be performed by exchanging data with each other.

One feature of the communication system 1000 is that the transmission source terminal 10 transmits an order list (ord) to the transmission destination server 30.
server 30 is internally stored in order to transmit an ordered list in which the terminals 50 to 53 to be provided by the server 30 are provided. In response to this request, the destination server 3
0 transmits the order list to the source terminal 10.
In response to the response, the source terminal 10 sends the destination terminals 50 to 5
3 is identified, and the destination terminals 50 to 53 are distinguished according to the list of the order list. For example, in response to a request from the source terminal 10, the destination server 30 sends a terminal A50 having an index 1 to the source terminal, an index 2
B51 with index 3, terminal C52 with index 3,
The data file of the terminal D53 having the index 4 is transmitted. As a result, when generating the TSI field (T
Assume that the SI field is limited to 20 characters), and the source terminal refers to a list of each destination terminal 50-53 rather than a four digit identifier. Instead of a list of dynamic terminal identifiers, the four terminals 50-53 can send the source terminal 1 without exceeding the limit of 20 characters in the TSI field.
Selected at 0. In the present embodiment, the transmission source terminal 10 includes the transmission destination terminals 50 to 5 on the CRT 215 (FIG. 2).
3 is displayed, and each of the candidate terminals 50 to 53 is displayed.
Facilitates user selection with detailed information on The source terminal 10 selectively requests the order list via the PSTN 20.
Access the STN twice (once for the ordered list, once for sending the message to the destination server) or one access with a longer call (eg, requesting the ordered list) Make a long call and send it a digital message at the same time as receiving it).

The above procedure will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 11 (see also FIG. 12 described later).
In FIG. 11, the process starts in step S61, and the transmission source terminal 10 transmits the request for the order list from the transmission destination server 30 to the communication link (1001, 1003, 1005) or P
This is performed selectively via the STN 20. After responding to the request,
The process proceeds to step S63, and the transmission source terminal 10 receives the order list and the detailed information of each entry in the list from the transmission destination server 30. Upon receiving the ordered list, the source terminal 1
0 stores the ordered list in RAM 295 (or other suitable memory). After the accumulation, the process proceeds to step S6
Proceeding to 5, the source terminal 10 prompts the user whether the user wants to see the list display of the candidate destination terminals 50-53. When the process proceeds to step S67, an inquiry is made as to whether the answer of the user is affirmative. If step S6
If the answer to the inquiry 7 is negative, the process proceeds to (A) and branches to step S5 in FIG. 4, where the user generates a plurality of facsimile messages at that time.
However, if the answer to step S67 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step S69, where the source terminal 10 displays the order list on the cathode ray tube 215 (FIG. 2). Instead, the LCD display 220 or the printer 242
It is also possible to print the ordered list.

After step S69, the process proceeds to step S7
Proceeding to 1, the source terminal 10 receives a selective response from the user and identifies the terminals 50-53 to which the user wants to send a facsimile message. The processing then proceeds to step S7
Proceeding to 3, the source terminal 10 prompts the user to press the input key and then input the telephone number of the destination server 30 (described later with reference to FIG. 12). Input key 12
When the button 82 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S75, and the source terminal 10 prepares a TSI field having the configuration shown in FIG. 5C, but the fields 555, 557, 559, 561
Contains a list of each entry in the ordered list (usually a number 1 or 2), but cannot completely identify the terminal. Similarly, for the four shown in FIG.
Additional entries are made in the fields. Next, the process proceeds to step S77, where the source terminal 10 transmits the facsimile to the destination server 30 together with the list of the order list of the selected destination terminals, and ends the process. Destination server 3
Since 0 also has an ordered list, the destination server 30 removes the inventory, compares the ordered lists, identifies the selected destination terminal, and simultaneously identifies each network address of the selected identified terminal. get.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a user interface for executing the processing of FIG. FIG.
At, the user looks at the ordered list on the CRT 215 and selects each entry in the ordered list using the input keys 1282 on the keyboard 282. The inventory corresponds to the position of each entry in the ordered list. The user uses a pair of scroll buttons 1283 on keyboard 282 to scroll between different entries in the ordered list. When the user presses the scroll button 1283, as shown in FIG. 12, the illumination area 1285 moves sequentially between the entries in the order list. Since the ordered list is not limited to 'technical data' and 'address data', the ordered list includes descriptive entry information.
For example, as shown in the example of FIG. 12, each entry of the order list can identify a personal name, a job title, and the like. In addition, the user interface of FIG. 12 may provide, for a particular entry selected by the user of the ordered list,
Identify a 'check mark' on the CRT 215. Alternatively, a mouse 281 (FIG. 2) or other input device is used to select different users on the list. When a plurality of items are selected from an ordered list having a result of 20 characters or more of the TSI, the source terminal 10
Knows that the maximum number of destination terminals 50-53 have been selected on the CRT 215. At this time, the user is asked whether the facsimile has been transmitted to the entry displayed on the ordered list by the transmission source terminal 10. If, after the facsimile is sent, the operator puts a check next to the selected entry of the previously sent and still illuminated copy of the facsimile, the user will first be prompted for multiple fax messages. You will not notice that you have selected the same entry as you have selected Prepare.

The processes described herein may be implemented using a general-purpose microprocessor programmed according to the teachings of the specification, and may include any suitable technology. High praise will be given. Appropriate software coding will be provided by the skilled programmer and will be understood for the appropriate technique based on what is disclosed in this embodiment. Thus, the present invention includes a computer-based entity residing on a storage medium, and includes a computer programmed architecture for performing processing in accordance with the present invention. The storage medium may be any type of disk including floppy disk, optical disk, CD-ROM, magneto-optical disk, ROM, RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory, magnetic or optical card, or any type of electronic device suitable for storing electronic structures. Including, but not limited to, media. Also, many modifications and variations of the present invention are clearly possible from the above disclosure. Thus, the present invention is capable of implementation other than as specifically described and will be understood to be within the scope of the appended claims.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The digital message can be routed to a plurality of destination terminals, or to some of the plurality of destination terminals. Also, an address list of the destination terminal used when the source terminal generates a digital message can be obtained from the destination terminal, and a plurality of subaddresses can be converted into the Internet address of each destination terminal. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication system showing a routing structure of a network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic part of a transmission source terminal in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a display unit and a keypad of the transmission source terminal in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 generates a copy to distinguish a plurality of destination terminals identified in the message and the message,
5 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission method.

FIG. 5 is a time sequence chart of a data field and data to be input to a source terminal that generates a message, and a TSI field.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an operation procedure of a destination server that routes a copy of a message to a destination terminal identified by the message after receiving the message.

FIG. 7 is an operation flowchart of a source terminal that generates a polling request message that calls one or more destination terminals.

FIG. 8 is a time sequence chart of a data field and input data of a polling request message generated by a transmission source terminal and a TSI field.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a communication system having a network routing structure according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a communication system having a multiplex communication link between a source terminal and a destination server according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an operation flowchart of a source terminal that generates a message based on an entry in a list provided by a destination server.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a user interface of the source terminal on which a message generated by the source terminal is received many times and a screen for displaying a list that can be easily selected by a user is arranged.

[Description of Signs] 100: Digital communication system, 10: Source terminal,
50 to 53: destination terminal, 21: analog line, 23:
Analog exchange, 22 second analog line, 20 public switched telephone network (PSTN), 30 destination server, 31
Nodes, 40 ... data communication network, 32-35 ...
Network nodes, 270... System bus, 205
.. CPU, 295 RAM, 290 ROM, 230 hard disk, 240 printer, 225 input / output controller, 242 external printer, 245 internal printer, 2
84 ... internal scanner, 283 ... external scanner, 282 ...
Keyboard 281 External mouse 275 Internal keypad 280 Input controller 210 Display controller 215 CRT display unit 220 Liquid crystal display unit
250: communication controller, 240 ': network,
241, PSTN connection, 285, ASIC (application integrated circuit), 277, stop key, 276, start key, 505, 507, 509, data field, 503, 505, data field, 9
03: node, 500: source server, 920: network, 900: communication system, 910
... Sender server, 1003 ... Intermediate network, 100
1: Network line, 1005: Other communication line, 10
00 ... communication system, 1282 ... input key, 1283 ...
Scroll buttons.

Claims (21)

[Claims] 1. A method of generating a digital message and routing the digital message to a plurality of destination terminals, the method comprising: providing a user with the digital message for routing to the plurality of destination terminals. A first step of prompting an input, a second step of receiving from the user a display response indicating whether to route the message to a plurality of destination terminals, and a response received in the second step of receiving the message. If affirmative, a third step of prompting the user to enter each identifier of the plurality of destination terminals; a fourth step of prompting the user to enter the telephone number of the destination to which the digital message is to be transmitted; Generating a digital message including a plurality of destination terminal identifiers when a positive response is received in the second step; Message routing method to multiple devices, which comprises the steps. 2. The method for routing messages to a plurality of devices according to claim 1, further comprising: transmitting a digital message to a destination server via a communication channel according to a telephone number in addition to the steps. A seventh step of translating each identifier into a corresponding network address at the destination server; and using the network address of each destination terminal provided by the destination server, Eighth routing each copy of the message
And routing the message to a plurality of devices. 3. The method for routing messages to a plurality of devices according to claim 2, wherein said converting comprises: at least an Internet Protocol address and an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) address from at least one identifier. A message routing method to a plurality of devices. 4. The method for routing messages to a plurality of devices according to claim 2, wherein the transmitting step includes transmitting the digital message via at least one of a PSTN telephone line and a wireless communication channel. A method for routing messages to a plurality of devices, comprising transmitting. 5. The method for routing messages to a plurality of devices according to claim 1, wherein the step of inputting comprises the step of prompting the user to input a four-digit character string representing each identifier. A method for routing messages to a plurality of devices, the method comprising: 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said prompting comprises prompting a user on a facsimile display of a facsimile machine. Message routing method to a plurality of devices. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first step of prompting comprises the step of prompting the user on a computer display. Message routing to multiple devices. 8. The method for routing messages to a plurality of devices according to claim 1, further comprising the step of inputting, to the user, respective identifiers of a plurality of destination terminals to be polled. And receiving a response indicating that each identifier has been identified from the user.
Message routing to a plurality of devices, wherein the fifth step of generating includes generating a polling request message including each identifier of each destination terminal to be polled. Method. 9. The method for routing messages to a plurality of devices according to claim 1, wherein, in addition to each of the steps, at least one of a destination terminal and a destination server stores an inventory of destination candidate terminals. Receiving an ordered list that includes
The third step of inputting the identifier further comprises the step of entering at least one of the inventories at least once and selecting at least one of the inventories. Method. 10. The method for routing messages to a plurality of devices according to claim 2, wherein said converting step further comprises: extracting each identifier from the digital message; and each Internet matching the identifier. A plurality of devices, comprising: detecting a protocol address on a lookup table; and generating each network message based on the Internet protocol address detected in the detecting step. How to route messages to 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of extracting includes the step of extracting each identifier from a transmitting station identifier field of the digital message. How to route messages to the device. 12. A device for generating a digital message, comprising: a data input device for a user to input data; and an input to the user as to whether or not to route the digital message to a plurality of destination terminals. Receiving a response from the user at the data input device, then receiving a first signal indicating whether to route the message to a plurality of destination terminals, and then receiving the first signal from the plurality of destination terminals. Means for receiving a second signal indicating each identifier of the digital message, and receiving a third signal indicating the telephone number of the next digital message to be transmitted; and generating a digital message including each identifier of the plurality of destination terminals. An apparatus comprising: 13. The apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a means for transmitting a digital message via a communication channel and an arrangement connected to the communication channel and receiving the digital message. A destination server having a network server corresponding to each of the network messages including a copy of the digital message.
An apparatus comprising: means for translating to an address; and means for routing each network message through a network to which the destination server and at least one of the destination terminals are connected. 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said network address includes at least one of an Internet Protocol address and an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) address. 15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the communication channel comprises at least one of a PSTN telephone line and a wireless communication channel. 16. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said input device comprises a facsimile machine. 17. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said input device comprises a computer. 18. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, in addition to the means, at least one of the destination terminal and the destination server requests an ordered list including a list of the destination candidate terminals. Means for receiving the ordered list, and wherein the means for generating the digital message includes means for listing an identifier in the digital message. 19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein, in addition to the means, a display arranged to display at least the order list and a printer arranged to print the order list on paper. Apparatus comprising user interface means comprising one of the following. 20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the destination server further comprises: means for receiving a digital message; means for extracting each identifier from the digital message; Internet that matches each identifier extracted by the extraction means
Protocol address and asynchronous transmission mode (AT
M) means for detecting one of the addresses. 21. A message routing system, comprising: a plurality of destination terminals each having a network address; a network for passing a digital message between the plurality of destination terminals; A memory for holding a look-up table describing the network address of the destination terminal and the associated identifier, and extracting the identifier from the received message, and assigning one of the network addresses for the identifier extracted from the received message. A first server that uses the look-up table to identify, generates a network message using the network address, and is connected to the network; and facsimile and user data. Is entered A data input device for receiving the identifiers of the plurality of destination terminals selected by the data input device, and a second processor that generates a message including the identifier input from the data input device. A source terminal provided with, connected to the destination server and the source terminal, to carry a message generated to be sent to the destination server by the source terminal, in which case the destination server,
A communication channel for routing each copy of the message to each of a plurality of destination terminals identified by the message.
Routing system.