JPH11220601A - Method for setting transmission destination and communication equipment and network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To designate the destination of a first repeater system, a second repeater system, and a facsimile at a reception side from a facsimile at the origin of transmission in a simple operation by-reducing communication costs between facsimiles by using Internet even when one destination is present. SOLUTION: When the destination of transmission is inputted with a telephone number, a facsimile equipment 1-17 reads the telephone number and electronic mail address of a first repeater designation registered corresponding to the destination of transmission, transmits the electronic mail address and the telephone number of the destination of transmission to an electronic mail facsimile equipment 1-2 being the first repeater destination in the procedure of facsimile. The electronic mail facsimile equipment 1-2 extracts the electronic mail address and the telephone number of the destination of transmission from a received sub-address, prepares electronic mail data including transmission data and the destination of transmission, and transmits the data to an electronic mail facsimile equipment 1-11. The electronic mail facsimile equipment 1-11 extracts the telephone number of the destination of transmission from the received electronic mail data, and transmits the transmission data to a facsimile equipment of the destination of transmission.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to ISDN, PSTN
A destination setting method in a communication device such as a facsimile which can be mutually connected via a public network such as a public line or the Internet, and the communication device;
It relates to a network system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, with the development of a network environment, communication in which LANs are connected via the Internet, such as electronic mail, has become popular. It is expected that communication via the Internet is free of communication charges, and that communication via the Internet is also applied to facsimile and the like.

For example, in facsimile communication,
Conventionally, by transmitting an image to a repeater and broadcasting an image received from the repeater to a broadcast destination, it is possible to reduce communication costs required for transmission from a source to a broadcast destination. There was something I aimed for.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, the cost of facsimile communication between the transmission source and the repeater and between the repeater and the broadcast destination is doubled. Does not reduce communication costs.

An object of the present invention is to reduce the communication cost of a facsimile on the transmission side and a facsimile on the reception side using a network such as the Internet even if there is one destination.

[0006] Further, an image is transmitted from a transmission source facsimile to a first relay connected to the Internet via a public line, and the image data is transmitted to a second relay via the Internet. When image data is transmitted from the second repeater to the receiving facsimile connected to the public line, the destination of the first repeater, the second repeater, and the receiving facsimile can be easily operated at the transmission source. The purpose is to be able to specify.

It is another object of the present invention to enable widespread communication with a facsimile having a standard function without the need to newly design a non-standard procedure.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, a communication apparatus according to the present invention comprises a first relay destination designating means for designating a first relay destination for relaying transmission data; Second relay destination specifying means for specifying a second relay destination for transferring from the first relay destination to a second relay destination; and a second relay destination specifying unit for transferring the transmission data from the second relay destination. And destination designation means for designating a transmission destination.

Here, the first relay destination is designated by data representing a telephone number, the second relay destination is designated by data representing an e-mail address, and the transmission destination is designated by data representing a telephone number. Is done. In addition, the first
The transmission means for transmitting data representing the second relay destination and the transmission destination to the relay destination by facsimile procedure. Further, the transmitting means is an ITU-T T30
The second relay destination and the data representing the transmission destination are transmitted at the sub-address specified by. In addition, there is further provided a first registration unit that registers the first relay destination and / or the second relay destination corresponding to the transmission destination. In addition, the first relay destination and / or the second relay destination used when the first relay destination and / or the second relay destination are not registered in the first registration unit are stored in the transmission destination. And a second registering means for registering in correspondence with. Further, there is further provided a first selecting means for selecting whether to activate the first relay destination specifying means and the second relay destination specifying means.
Further, there is further provided a second selecting means for selecting whether to activate the destination specifying means. Further, the communication device is a facsimile device.

The communication apparatus having a relay function according to the present invention comprises: a receiving means for receiving at least a subaddress and transmission data; a relay destination for transferring the transmission data to a next relay destination from the received subaddress; And / or extracting means for extracting a transmission destination for transfer from the next relay destination to the transmission destination, and creating e-mail data including the transmission data and the transmission destination, and transmitting the e-mail data to the relay destination. Transmitting means for transmitting. Here, the sub-address is ITU-T.
This is a sub-address specified by T30, and the transmission destination is stored in a command area of a file described in MIME.

[0011] Further, a communication device having a relay function of the present invention is a receiving device for receiving e-mail data including at least a transmission destination and transmission data, and for transferring the transmission data from the received e-mail data. Extraction means for extracting the transmission destination, and transmission means for transmitting the transmission data to the transmission destination. Here, the transmission destination is stored in a command area of a file described in MIME.

Further, the communication apparatus having a relay function according to the present invention comprises: a first receiving means for receiving at least a subaddress and transmission data; and a transfer means for transferring the transmission data to a next relay destination from the received subaddress. First extraction means for extracting a relay destination and / or a transmission destination for transfer from the next relay destination to the transmission destination; and e-mail data including the transmission data and the transmission destination. First transmission means for transmitting data to the relay destination, second reception means for receiving e-mail data including at least the transmission destination and transmission data, and transferring the transmission data from the received e-mail data And a second transmission unit for transmitting the transmission data to the transmission destination. Here, the sub address is ITU
-TT This is a sub address defined by T30, and the transmission destination is stored in a command area of a file described in MIME. The communication device having the relay function is a facsimile device.

Further, the network system according to the present invention comprises at least a communication device of a transmission source, a communication device having a relay function functioning as a first relay station, and a communication device having a relay function functioning as a second relay station. A network system in which a device and a destination communication device are connected, wherein the source communication device specifies a first relay destination for relaying transmission data; Second relay destination designating means for designating a second relay destination for transferring transmission data from the first relay destination to a second relay destination; and transferring the transmission data from the second relay destination. Destination designation means for designating a transmission destination to perform, and at least a third transmission means for transmitting the transmission data and a subaddress including the second relay destination and the transmission destination, A communication device having a relay function functioning as a first relay station, a first receiving means for receiving at least a subaddress and transmission data, and transferring the transmission data to a next relay destination from the received subaddress. First extraction means for extracting the relay destination of the first and / or the next relay destination for transmission to the transmission destination; and creating e-mail data including the transmission data and the transmission destination. A communication device having first transmission means for transmitting mail data to the relay destination and having a relay function functioning as the second relay station receives e-mail data including at least a transmission destination and transmission data Second receiving means for extracting the transmission destination for transferring the transmission data from the received e-mail data; and And having a second transmission means for transmitting data to said transmission destination. Here, the first relay destination is specified by data representing a telephone number, the second relay destination is specified by data representing an e-mail address, the transmission destination is specified by data representing a telephone number, Sub address is ITU
-TT This is a sub address defined by T30, and the transmission destination is stored in a command area of a file described in MIME.

Further, according to the method of setting a transmission destination in the communication apparatus of the present invention, when a transmission destination for transmitting transmission data is input, a first relay destination registered corresponding to the transmission destination is transmitted. And / or reading out a second relay destination, and transmitting data representing the second relay destination and the transfer destination to the first relay destination by a facsimile procedure. Here, the communication device is a facsimile device, the transmission destination is input as data representing a telephone number, the first relay destination is data representing a telephone number, and the second relay destination is an e-mail address. 20. The method of setting a transmission destination in a communication device according to claim 19, wherein the transmission destination is registered as data representing

Further, the method of setting a transmission destination in the network system according to the present invention includes at least a transmission source communication apparatus, a communication apparatus having a relay function functioning as a first relay station, and a function as a second relay station. A method for setting a transmission destination in a network system in which a communication device having a relay function to perform and a communication device of a transmission destination is connected, wherein a transmission destination for transmitting transmission data is input in the transmission source communication device. In this case, the first relay destination and / or the second relay destination registered corresponding to the transmission destination are read out, and the second relay destination and the transfer destination are registered with respect to the first relay destination. Is transmitted by a facsimile procedure, and the communication device having a relay function functioning as the first relay station transfers the transmission data from the received sub-address. Extracting the second relay destination for transmission and the transmission destination for further transfer from the second relay destination, creating e-mail data including the transmission destination, and converting the e-mail data into the second The communication device having a relay function of transmitting to the relay destination and transmitting the transmission data by extracting the transmission destination from the received e-mail data, Data is transmitted to the transmission destination. Here, the communication device of the transmission source and the transmission destination is a facsimile device, the transmission destination is input with data representing a telephone number, and the first relay destination is data representing a telephone number, and the second relay destination is the second communication destination. The relay destination is registered as data representing an e-mail address, the subaddress is a subaddress specified by ITU-T T30, and the transmission destination is stored in a command area of a file described in MIME.

A storage medium according to the present invention is a storage medium for storing a control program for controlling a communication device in a computer-readable manner, wherein the control program includes at least a transmission destination for transmitting transmission data. And a reading module for reading out the first relay destination and / or the second relay destination registered corresponding to the transmission destination, and the second relay destination for the first relay destination. And a transmission module for transmitting data representing a transfer destination by a facsimile procedure. The first relay destination and / or the second relay destination corresponding to the transmission destination
Further includes a management table for registering the relay destinations.

Further, the storage medium of the present invention is a storage medium for storing a control program for controlling a communication device having a relay function in a computer-readable manner, wherein the control program determines at least a transmission data from a received sub-address. A first extraction module for extracting a second relay destination for transferring the e-mail and a transmission destination for further transfer from the second relay destination; and e-mail data including the transmission destination. A first transmission module for transmitting mail data to the second relay destination, a second extraction module for extracting a transmission destination for transferring transmission data from the received e-mail data, A second transmission module for transmitting to a transmission destination. And a management table for registering a first relay destination and / or a second relay destination corresponding to the transmission destination.

[0018]

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

<Example of Configuration of Network System According to the Present Embodiment> FIG. 1 shows a connection between a facsimile apparatus according to the present embodiment and a facsimile apparatus having an electronic mail / facsimile conversion function (hereinafter referred to as an electronic mail facsimile apparatus). FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network system.

In FIG. 1, an e-mail facsimile machine 1-2, an e-mail server 1-3, an e-mail server, and a local area network (hereinafter referred to as LAN) 1-1 of the first head office (Tokyo) are provided. Client PC1-
5, and a remote router 1-4 for LAN connection to the Fukuoka branch via a dedicated line 1-6. Further, the electronic mail facsimile apparatus 1-2 is connected to a public telephone network (PST).
N) or Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) 1-18
Facsimile communication with the facsimile machine 1-17 of the office in Tokyo of this example is possible.

On the other hand, a remote router 1-8 for connecting the head office to the LAN, an electronic mail facsimile apparatus 1-11, an electronic mail server 1-10, and an electronic mail client are connected to the LAN 1-7 of the Fukuoka branch. PC
1-9 are connected. Further, the electronic mail facsimile apparatus 1-11 is connected to a public telephone network (PSTN) or an integrated service digital network (ISDN) 1-12, and the facsimile apparatuses 1-13 and 1-14 of a business office in Fukuoka city.
Facsimile communication with

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, when transmission is performed from a facsimile machine 1-17 at a business office in Tokyo to a facsimile machine 1-13 at a business office in Fukuoka city, the electronic data at the Tokyo head office is used. The e-mail facsimile apparatus 1-2 communicates with the e-mail facsimile apparatus 1-11 of the Fukuoka branch via a dedicated line or the Internet.

<Example of Configuration of Facsimile Apparatus According to this Embodiment> First, the operation of the G3 facsimile apparatus of the office in Tokyo, which is a relay instruction station, will be described.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the G3 facsimile apparatus (1-17) of this embodiment.

In FIG. 3, each element is connected by a bus 3-1. The ROM 3-2 is a read-only memory that stores a computer program (software for controlling the entire apparatus) executed by the CPU 3-3, and the CPU 3-3 is stored in the ROM 3-2 (or (Downloaded to RAM3-4)
The apparatus is controlled by executing the program.

The RAM 3-4 is a random access memory for storing various data necessary for control, registration management data as shown in FIG. 5, or a program.
The storage memory 3-5 is a memory for storing encoded data of facsimile communication, e-mail data, scan, and print image data. Here, the storage memory 3-5 may be included in the RAM 3-4. Note that various data, registration management data, or programs necessary for control may be loaded from an external storage unit 3-12 described later, or may be downloaded from the e-mail facsimile apparatus 1-2.

The line I / F 3-6 is an ISDN line or P
CCU for performing communication via STN line 1-18
(Communication control unit), a modem, an NCU (network control unit), and the like, and performs a call operation and a communication operation to a line under the control of the CPU 3-3.

The printer section 3-7 performs recording of a facsimile reception image, copy recording operation, operation in response to a print request from a PC, and the like under the control of the CPU 3-3. The reading unit 3-8 performs a scan of a transmission image, a copy reading operation, an operation in response to a scan request from a PC, and the like under the control of the CPU 3-3. Operation unit 3-
9 transmits information from the input key input information and various types of information to be displayed to other control units under the control of the CPU 3-3, and performs display according to the operation content.

The image linear density converter 3-10 performs resolution conversion of image data, conversion of page size, conversion of millimeter / inch, and the like. The compression / decompression unit 3-11 includes the reading unit 3
−8, and encodes the image data (MH, M
R, MMR, JBIG, etc.), and decodes the received encoded data. The external storage unit 3-12 includes:
It is composed of a storage medium such as a floppy disk or a CD-ROM and stores, for example, programs and registration management data as shown in FIG. 5, and is loaded into the RAM 3-4, encoded data, e-mail data, Used to store scan and print image data.

FIG. 5 shows that the G3 facsimile of the office 1-17 in Tokyo, which is the relay instruction station (G3 facsimile) of this example, is connected to the electronic mail facsimile apparatus 1-2, which is the first relay station of the Tokyo head office, and the second relay. G3 facsimile 1 via e-mail facsimile 1-11 of Fukuoka branch office
It is a figure which shows the example of registration management data for transmitting to -13.

The registration management data consists of two types of registration management data: a telephone number management table 5-1 and a relay transmission registration management data 5-7.

First, the telephone number management table will be described.
If the destination input is a one-touch dial or abbreviated dial, this table is No. Searched by X or Name,
If the destination input is a telephone number, Tel. No. is destination data searched and used. The registration management data includes a destination abbreviation 5-2, a destination telephone number 5-3, a transmission mode 5-
4, and when the transmission mode is "e-mail relay transmission", the first relay station 5-5 and the second relay station 5-6 can be designated.

The first relay station is a relay station that receives via an ISDN or a PSTN and transmits an electronic mail via a dedicated line or the Internet, such as the electronic mail facsimile machine 1-2 at the Tokyo head office. The second relay station refers to a relay station that receives an e-mail via a dedicated line or the Internet and transmits the same via an ISDN or a PSTN, such as the e-mail facsimile apparatus 1-11 of the Fukuoka branch.

The first relay station 5-5 receives (03-4567)
-8901), and the second relay station 5-6 is (fukuo@ccc.bbb.dd.ee)
Is specified by the e-mail address.
However, both the first and second relay stations must be electronic mail facsimile. The telephone number 5-5 of the first relay station is used as a transmission destination, and the mail address 5-6 of the second relay station is used.
Are passed to the first relay station as relay data.

Next, the relay transmission registration management data 5-7 will be described.

If the destination is specified by one-touch dialing or abbreviated dialing (or telephone number) and the content of the transmission mode registration is "e-mail relay mode", the first and second relay station addresses of the registration management data described above are used. Is relayed using. However, if the first and second relay station addresses are not specified, the first and second relay station management data
The relay address 5-8 and the second relay address 5-9 are used.

When the transmission mode is set to the "e-mail relay mode" in advance and a destination is input, the first and second relay addresses of the relay transmission registration management data are used.
The first relay station address 5-8 registers a telephone number, and the second relay station address 5-9 registers an e-mail address. E-mail facsimile is designated for the first and second relay stations.

The registration management data of this embodiment can be extended and used as follows while maintaining the configuration. For example, when the transmission mode is “facsimile transmission”, the destination telephone number 5
-3 are registered, and the first and second relay station addresses are not used. When the transmission mode is "e-mail transmission", the destination mail address is registered in the destination telephone number 5-3, and the second relay station address is not used. When the transmission mode is the "facsimile relay mode", the telephone number is registered in the second relay station address.

FIG. 6 shows a work area for determining the contents of the subaddress specified by ITU-T T30, which is provided in the RAM 3-4. Hereinafter, it is referred to as a sub address storage buffer 6-1. The generation of the sub address data is managed by the character number data 6-2 and the storage address pointer 6-3.

In this example, the sub-address storage buffer 6-1 stores the destination telephone number of the G4 facsimile machine 1-13 in the Fukuoka city office, which is the final receiving station, and the mail address of the second relay station. .

FIG. 7 shows an example. When the other party's telephone number is determined 7-2, the contents are copied to the sub address storage buffer, and the buffer pointer is advanced by the number of characters. If the second relay station is designated, the pointer is incremented by one with the delimiter "#" added, and the second relay station address 7-3 is copied to the address specified by the pointer (7-1).

<Example of Operation Procedure of Facsimile Apparatus According to this Embodiment> FIG. 4 is a business office 1-1 in Tokyo serving as a relay instruction station.
7 is a flowchart showing an operation example for instructing relay transmission and making a transmission reservation to a destination via an electronic mail facsimile.

When an electronic mail relay button is received by a key operation of the operation unit 3-9 of the instruction station, the mode shifts to a relay instruction transmission mode (S4-1).

When entering the relay mode, the sub address storage buffer 6-1 is cleared to NULL and the character number data 6- is cleared.
2. The management information of the storage address pointer 6-3 is initialized (S4-2). Then, it waits for the telephone number of the other party (S4-3). The other party's telephone number may be input by ten keys, one-touch dialing, or speed dialing. The contents of the destination may be either a telephone number or an e-mail address.

When the destination address as the transmission destination is input, the mail address is stored in the sub address storage buffer 6-1.
(S4-4), and determines whether the destination address is a telephone number or a mail address (S4-4).
5). If it is a mail address, a relay instruction is transmitted to the registered first relay station (S4-8).

If the destination is a telephone number, the input destination telephone number is written into the sub-address storage buffer 6-1 (S4-5), and the management information is updated. It is determined whether the second relay station is instructed in accordance with the other party's telephone number (S4-6). If instructed, the delimiter "#" mark is stored and the second relay station is continued. The mail address is written (S4-7a). If not instructed, the mail address of the second relay station is read and written from the relay transmission registration data 5-7 (S4-7b).

Then, a call is made to the first relay electronic mail facsimile 1-2, the original is read, and relay transmission is started.

Next, a case where the destination telephone number is registered by one-touch registration, the transmission mode is "e-mail relay transmission", and the second relay e-mail facsimile is specified will be described below.

When the one-touch key is pressed by the key operation of the operation unit in the standby state (S4-
9), referring to the registered contents of one touch, it is determined whether or not the electronic mail relay mode is set (S4-1).
0). If the relay mode has not been set, normal G3 transmission is performed (S4-11). If the relay mode has been set, the above-described steps S4-2 to S4-8 are performed.
(S4-3 is passed).

In the case of another key / button input, (S
4-12), and perform other corresponding processing (S4-13).

<Example of Configuration of E-mail Facsimile Apparatus of the Present Embodiment> FIG. 8 shows an example of the configuration of an e-mail facsimile apparatus 1-2 at the Tokyo head office, which is the first relay station.

In FIG. 8, each element is connected by a bus 8-1. The ROM 8-2 is a read-only memory storing a computer program (software for controlling the entire apparatus) executed by the CPU 8-3, and the CPU 8-3 is stored in the ROM 8-2 (or (Downloaded to RAM8-4)
The apparatus is controlled by executing the program.

The RAM 8-4 is a random access memory for storing various data necessary for control, registration management data as shown in FIG. 5, or a program.
The storage memory 8-5 is a memory for storing encoded data of facsimile communication, e-mail data, scan, and print image data. Here, the storage memory 3-5 may be included in the RAM 3-4. Various data necessary for control, registration management data, or programs may be loaded from an external storage unit 8-13, which will be described later. A line I / F unit 8-6 is provided with an ISDN line or a PSTN line.
It has a CCU (communication control unit), a modem, an NCU (network control unit), etc., for performing communication via the line 1-18, and performs a calling operation and a communication operation to the line under the control of the CPU 8-3. .

The printer unit 8-7 performs recording of a facsimile reception image, copy recording operation, operation in response to a print request from a PC, and the like under the control of the CPU 8-3. The reading unit 8-8 performs a scan of a transmission image, a copy reading operation, an operation in response to a scan request from a PC, and the like under the control of the CPU 8-3. Operation unit 8-
In accordance with the control by the CPU 8-3, 0 transmits information from the input key input information and various types of information to be displayed to other control units, and performs display according to the operation content.

The pixel line density converter 8-10 performs resolution conversion of image data, conversion of page size, conversion of millimeter / inch, and the like. The compression / decompression unit 8-11 includes the reading unit 8
−8, and encodes the image data (MH, M
R, MMR. JBIG, etc.), and decodes the received encoded data. LAN I / F 8-1
Reference numeral 2 denotes an interface for connecting to the LAN 1-1.

The external storage unit 8-13 is formed of a storage medium such as a floppy disk or a CD-ROM, and stores, for example, programs and registration management data as shown in FIG. 5, and is stored in the RAM 8-4 or the RAM 3-4. Used to store loaded and encoded data, email data, scanned and printed image data.

When the text of the e-mail data is converted into image data, the bitmap data for converting the character code into bitmap image data is RO
M8-2.

The first relay station has means for receiving and analyzing the subaddress shown in FIG. First, the contents received as the sub-address data are stored in the sub-address storage buffer 1.
Store it in 0-1.

Sub address buffer pointer 10-2
Is incremented sequentially and is used to check the characters stored in the buffer. Then, the relay destination address buffer 10-3 and the transmission destination address buffer 10-
Reference numeral 4 denotes an area for storing data of the sub-address storage buffer 10-1 separated by a delimiter "#".

(07) of the data before the delimiter "#"
8-9012-3456) as the destination telephone number in the destination address buffer 10-4, and the data after the delimiter "#" (fukuo@ccc.bbb.dddd.ee) as the relay destination mail address and the relay destination It is stored in the address buffer 10-3.

A variable holding unit 1 for storing the transmission mode
Transmission modes such as “e-mail relay transmission” and “e-mail transmission” are stored in 0-5 according to the contents of the previous sub-address storage buffer 10-1. The method of determining the communication mode is determined from the presence or absence of a delimiter and the contents of the destination. If there is a delimiter in the contents of the sub address and the relay destination is an e-mail address, set the transmission mode to "e-mail relay transmission", and if the relay destination is a telephone number, "facsimile relay transmission" Set to.

When there is no delimiter and the data content is an e-mail address, the transmission mode is set to “e-mail”.
If the content of the data is a telephone number, set to "Facsimile transmission".

<Example of Operation Procedure at First Relay Station of Electronic Mail Facsimile Apparatus According to this Embodiment> FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation procedure in which the first relay station performs a relay operation.

The first relay station recognizes that the reception is the relay reception (S9-1), and writes the subaddress into the subaddress storage buffer 10-1 (S9-2). If it is not relay reception, facsimile reception is performed and an image is printed out (S9-15).

When the image is received, the image data is converted into a storage format, stored in the image memory, and the reception is terminated (S9).
-3). After the reception is completed, the previous sub address storage buffer 1
Decrypt the contents of 0-1. The procedure is as follows.

First, it is checked whether the contents of the subaddress are valid data (S9-4). If it is composed of valid data, it is checked whether or not there is a delimiter character indicating whether or not a relay station has been specified (S9-5).

If there is a delimiter, the mail address of the electronic mail facsimile as the second relay station and the telephone number of the received fax are separated (S9-6), and the transmission destination address buffer 10-4 and the relay destination address buffer are separated. 10-3
Is stored (S9-7), and the next transmission mode is set to relay transmission (S9-8). If there is no delimiter, the contents of the sub address storage buffer are copied to the destination address buffer 10-4 (S9-7), and the next transmission mode is set to e-mail transmission (S9-8).

If the content stored in the destination buffer is a mail address (S9-9), the previously received image file is converted into a TIFF format file (S9-1).
0). The operation shifts to a transmission operation that matches the content of the next transmission mode (S9-11).

In this example, the contents of the e-mail are as follows:
MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extension, an email data format recommended by the IETF
and a received image converted to a file in TIFF format attached thereto.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, MIME
The instruction in the Command part of the file described in the above depends on the transmission mode. In the case of normal transmission, None is entered in the Command part (FIG. 11). If it is set to the relay transmission, the instruction of the Command portion of the file described in MIME is set to the relay, and the contents of the destination address buffer 10-4 are set as the destination address (S9-12).
A plurality of destination addresses may be set. An example is shown in FIG. Then, the contents of the relay destination address buffer 10-3 are set in the destination information (To ..), and the SMTP (IEET) is set.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol recommended by F)
Via the remote router 1-4, the dedicated line 1-6, and the remote router 1-8 via the e-mail server 1 of the Fukuoka branch.
Sent to 10 storage devices. (S9-13) If the transmission mode is e-mail, the command part of the file described in MIME is set to transmission, the contents of the transmission destination address buffer 10-4 are set to destination information, and the SM is set.
A mail is transmitted by the TP (S9-14).

<Example of Operation Procedure at Second Relay Station of Electronic Mail Facsimile Apparatus According to this Embodiment> An electronic mail facsimile 1-11 of Fukuoka branch office, which is a second relay station, is similar to the first relay station in FIG. It consists of.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation procedure in which the second relay station performs a relay reception operation and transmits a G3 facsimile via the PSTN.

The second relay station is an electronic mail server 1-1.
By polling 0, an inquiry about the presence or absence of e-mail data and a process of extracting e-mail data are periodically executed.

The communication procedure sequence of the polling process is as follows.
POP3 (IETF (Internet Engineering Task Fo
rce) "recommended by" Post Office Protocol Ver.3 ")
Is used.

When a mail is received (S13-1),
This e-mail facsimile 1-11 retrieves e-mail data from the e-mail server 1-10 (S13-
2).

When the relay mode is recognized from the content of the extracted MIME format data (S13-3),
The destination dial information is extracted (S13-4). The attached file is transmitted to a T.M. The image data is converted into image data in the 30 compression format (S13-5), the destination is automatically dialed (S13-6), and the image is transmitted (S13-7).

When a plurality of facsimile destinations are specified, the broadcast is transmitted. The procedure of facsimile transmission in this example is based on the T.T. There are 30 procedures.

Even if the present invention is applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), a single device (for example, a copying machine, a facsimile) Device).

Further, the object of the present invention is as described above.
A storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or an apparatus, and a computer (or CPU or MPU) of the system or apparatus reads out the program code stored in the storage medium. Needless to say, it can also be achieved by executing. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium implements the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instructions of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

When the present invention is applied to the storage medium, the storage medium stores program codes corresponding to the flowcharts described above.

According to the present embodiment, ISDN or PST
When a facsimile on the transmitting side and a facsimile on the receiving side are connected to a public telephone line such as N, the cost required for the communication can be reduced by using a network different from the public line such as the Internet.

Further, the image data is transmitted from the transmission source facsimile to the first repeater connected to the Internet,
When transmitting image data from the first repeater to a second repeater connected to the Internet, and transmitting image data from the second repeater to a receiving-side facsimile connected to a public line, the source Can specify the first repeater, the second repeater, and the destination of the facsimile on the receiving side.
Further, by enabling each of the above-mentioned destinations to be specified by the transmission source, a complicated process for determining the second repeater is not required for the first repeater, and the communication cost can be easily reduced. Can now be built.

Further, by transmitting the second relay destination and the destination of the facsimile on the receiving side by the facsimile procedure, it is not necessary to perform a destination instructing operation troublesome for the operator during communication, thereby improving the operability.

Further, by using the recommendations specified in ITU-T T30 for the second relay destination and the destination of the receiving facsimile, it is unnecessary to newly design a non-standard procedure for specifying the destination. became. Furthermore, since it is not a proprietary procedure, it has become possible to communicate widely with facsimile machines with standard functions.

[0088]

According to the present invention, even if there is one destination, the communication cost of the facsimile on the transmitting side and the facsimile on the receiving side can be reduced by using a network such as the Internet.

Also, an image is transmitted from a transmission source facsimile to a first relay connected to the Internet via a public line, and the image data is transmitted to a second relay via the Internet. When image data is transmitted from the second repeater to the receiving facsimile connected to the public line, the destination of the first repeater, the second repeater, and the receiving facsimile can be easily operated at the transmission source. Can be specified.

Further, it is possible to widely communicate with a facsimile having a standard function without troublesomely designing a non-standard procedure.

[0091]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a network system having a facsimile apparatus and an electronic mail facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a transmission path according to the present embodiment extracted from FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a relay instruction G3 facsimile apparatus of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation procedure of a G3 facsimile that transmits a relay instruction according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of registration management data for managing a relay instruction transmission of a G3 facsimile that performs a relay instruction transmission according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing subaddress management data of a G3 facsimile that performs relay instruction transmission according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a sub address at the time of transmitting a relay instruction according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of an electronic mail facsimile apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure example of the first relay station electronic mail facsimile of the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of sub-address management data at the time of receiving a relay instruction of the first relay station e-mail facsimile of the present embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the data content of a MIME file of an e-mail created by the first relay station e-mail facsimile of the present embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of data content of a MIME file of a relay e-mail created by a first relay station e-mail facsimile of the present embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure example of the second relay station electronic mail facsimile of the present embodiment.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H04M 11/00 303 H04N 1/00 107A H04N 1/00 104 1/21 107 H04L 11/20 101B 1/21

Claims (26)

[Claims] 1. A first relay destination specifying means for specifying a first relay destination for relaying transmission data, and a second relay destination specifying means for transferring the transmission data from the first relay destination to a second relay destination. A second relay destination designating unit for designating a relay destination of the communication device; and a destination designating unit for designating a transmission destination for transferring the transmission data from the second relay destination. apparatus. 2. The first relay destination is designated by data representing a telephone number, the second relay destination is designated by data representing an e-mail address, and the transmission destination is designated by data representing a telephone number. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The communication apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a transmitting unit that transmits data representing the second relay destination and the transmission destination to the first relay destination by a facsimile procedure. . 4. The transmission means according to claim 3, wherein said transmission means transmits said second relay destination and data representing a transmission destination at a sub-address specified by ITU-T T30.
The communication device as described. 5. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a first registration unit that registers the first relay destination and / or the second relay destination in correspondence with the transmission destination. 6. The first relay destination and / or the second relay destination used when the first relay destination and / or the second relay destination is not registered in the first registration unit,
The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a second registration unit that performs registration corresponding to the transmission destination. 7. The communication according to claim 1, further comprising first selection means for selecting whether to activate said first relay destination specification means and said second relay destination specification means. apparatus. 8. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second selection unit that selects whether to activate the destination designation unit. 9. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication device is a facsimile device. 10. A receiving means for receiving at least a sub-address and transmission data, a relay destination for transferring the transmission data to a next relay destination and / or a transmission destination from the next relay destination based on the received sub-address. Extraction means for extracting a transmission destination for transfer; and transmission means for creating e-mail data including the transmission data and the transmission destination, and transmitting the e-mail data to the relay destination. A communication device having a relay function. 11. The method according to claim 11, wherein the subaddress is ITU-T T3.
0, and the transmission destination is M
11. The communication device having a relay function according to claim 10, wherein the communication device is stored in a command area of a file described in IME. 12. Receiving means for receiving e-mail data including at least a transmission destination and transmission data; extracting means for extracting a transmission destination for transferring the transmission data from the received e-mail data; A communication device having a relay function, comprising: transmission means for transmitting transmission data to the transmission destination. 13. The communication device having a relay function according to claim 12, wherein the transmission destination is stored in a command area of a file described in MIME. 14. A first receiving means for receiving at least a sub-address and transmission data, and a relay destination for transferring the transmission data to a next relay destination from the received sub-address and / or a next relay destination. First extraction means for extracting a transmission destination to be transferred to a transmission destination; and first e-mail data generating the e-mail data including the transmission data and the transmission destination, and transmitting the e-mail data to the relay destination. Transmitting means; second receiving means for receiving e-mail data including at least a transmission destination and transmission data; and second extracting a transmission destination for transferring the transmission data from the received e-mail data. A communication device having a relay function, comprising: extracting means; and second transmitting means for transmitting the transmission data to the transmission destination. 15. The sub-address is ITU-T T3.
0, and the transmission destination is M
The communication device having a relay function according to claim 14, wherein the communication device is stored in a command area of a file described in IME. 16. The communication device having a relay function is a facsimile device.
5. A communication device having the relay function according to any one of 5. 17. A communication apparatus comprising: a communication device of a transmission source; a communication device having a relay function functioning as a first relay station; a communication device having a relay function functioning as a second relay station; A network system connected to a device, wherein the communication device of the transmission source specifies a first relay destination that relays transmission data, and a first relay destination specification unit that specifies the first relay destination; Second relay destination specifying means for specifying a second relay destination for transferring from the relay destination to the second relay destination; and specifying a transmission destination for transferring the transmission data from the second relay destination. And at least a third transmission unit for transmitting the transmission data and a subaddress including the second relay destination and the transmission destination, and functioning as the first relay station. A communication device having a relay function, at least first receiving means for receiving at least a sub-address and transmission data; and a relay destination for transferring the transmission data to a next relay destination from the received sub-address and / or a next relay destination. First extracting means for extracting a transmission destination to be transferred from the relay destination to the transmission destination; creating e-mail data including the transmission data and the transmission destination; and transmitting the e-mail data to the relay destination A communication device having a first transmitting means, and having a relay function functioning as the second relay station; a second receiving means for receiving e-mail data including at least a transmission destination and transmission data; Second extraction means for extracting a transmission destination for transferring the transmission data from the e-mail data, and transmitting the transmission data to the transmission destination. And a second transmission unit. 18. The first relay destination is designated by data representing a telephone number, the second relay destination is designated by data representing an e-mail address, and the transmission destination is designated by data representing a telephone number. , The sub-address is I
18. The network system according to claim 17, wherein the transmission destination is a subaddress defined by TU-TT30, and the transmission destination is stored in a command area of a file described in MIME. 19. When a transmission destination for transmitting transmission data is input, a first relay destination and / or a second relay destination registered corresponding to the transmission destination are read, and A transmission destination setting method in a communication device, wherein data representing the second relay destination and the transfer destination is transmitted to one relay destination by a facsimile procedure. 20. The communication device, wherein the communication device is a facsimile device, the transmission destination is input as data representing a telephone number, the first relay destination is data representing a telephone number, and the second relay destination is an electronic device. 20. The transmission destination setting method in a communication device according to claim 19, wherein the transmission destination is registered as data representing a mail address. 21. At least a communication device of a transmission source, a communication device having a relay function functioning as a first relay station, a communication device having a relay function functioning as a second relay station, and a communication of a transmission destination. A method for setting a transmission destination in a network system connected to an apparatus, wherein, when a transmission destination for transmitting transmission data is input, a registration is performed in the transmission source communication apparatus in accordance with the transmission destination. Reading the first relay destination and / or the second relay destination, and transmitting the data representing the second relay destination and the transfer destination to the first relay destination by a facsimile procedure; In the communication device having a relay function functioning as one relay station, from the received sub-address, the second relay destination for transferring the transmission data and the second relay destination Extracting the transmission destination for forwarding to the e-mail server, creating e-mail data including the transmission destination, transmitting the e-mail data to the second relay destination, and a relay functioning as the second relay station. In the communication apparatus having a function, the transmission destination for transferring the transmission data is extracted from the received e-mail data, and the transmission data is transmitted to the transmission destination. How to set up. 22. The communication device of the transmission source and the transmission destination is a facsimile device, the transmission destination is input as data representing a telephone number, and the first relay destination is data representing a telephone number, and The relay destination of No. 2 is registered with data representing an e-mail address, the sub-address is a sub-address specified by ITU-T T30, and the transmission destination is stored in a command area of a file described in MIME. 22. The method of setting a transmission destination in a network system according to claim 21, wherein: 23. A storage medium for storing a control program for controlling a communication device in a computer-readable manner, wherein the control program transmits the transmission program at least when a transmission destination for transmitting transmission data is input. A read module for reading a first relay destination and / or a second relay destination registered corresponding to a destination; and for the first relay destination, data representing the second relay destination and a transfer destination. A transmission module for performing transmission by a facsimile procedure. 24. The storage medium according to claim 23, further comprising a management table for registering said first relay destination and / or second relay destination corresponding to said transmission destination. 25. A storage medium for storing a control program for controlling a communication device having a relay function in a computer-readable manner, the control program comprising at least a second program for transferring transmission data from a received sub-address. A first extraction module for extracting a transmission destination for further transfer from the relay destination and the second relay destination; and creating e-mail data including the transmission destination, and converting the e-mail data into the second A first transmission module for transmitting to the relay destination; a second extraction module for extracting a transmission destination for transferring the transmission data from the received e-mail data; and a second extraction module for transmitting the transmission data to the transmission destination. And a transmission module. 26. The storage medium according to claim 25, further comprising a management table for registering a first relay destination and / or a second relay destination corresponding to the transmission destination.