JPH11266280A - Message communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a message communication system capable of separating an MTA function part and a facsimile conversion function part, without changing the operability in message transmission at the transferring of a facsimile number. SOLUTION: In this message communication system for converting a message transmitted via a network to facsimile data and transmitting them to a facsimile equipment, the description area of the facsimile number to be the transmission destination of the facsimile data is set to a comment part 13b unused for message delivery inside the transmission destination address information 13 of the message, and the facsimile data are transmitted to the facsimile number described in the comment part 13b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a message transmission system for converting a message transmitted via a network into facsimile data and transmitting the converted data to a facsimile apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, personal computers (hereinafter, referred to as personal computers).
Electronic mail services for exchanging messages (e-mails) by connecting personal computers (PCs) and data terminals via a communication network have been actively performed. In this electronic mail service, communication is performed via a mailbox. In recent years, a service for transmitting (transferring) a message created by a personal computer or the like to a facsimile machine has also been performed as part of an e-mail service. FIG.

In the message communication system shown in FIG. 4, a mail client (a personal computer or the like) 32 and a facsimile converter 33 are connected on a computer network 31 such as the Internet or a LAN (local area network). The facsimile conversion device 33 is connected to a public network 34, and a facsimile device 35 is connected to the public network 34. In the actual communication process, a message (mail) is transmitted from the mail client 32 to the facsimile conversion device 33 via the computer network 31. Then, the facsimile converter 33 receives the message transmitted from the mail client 32 and
Convert the received message to facsimile data.
Further, the facsimile conversion device 33 transmits the converted facsimile data through the public network 34 to the facsimile device 35.
Send to

At this time, in order to transfer the message transmitted from the mail client 32 to the correct destination (the facsimile device 35 specified by the user) via the facsimile conversion device 33, the information of the facsimile number indicating the destination needs some information. It must be included in the outgoing message in the form.

[0005] To cope with this, if a unique method can be adopted for the message transfer method, an appropriate information area is created in the message and facsimile number information is stored therein, so that it can be easily handled. However, when the original message transfer method is adopted, all the devices such as the computer on the transmission side, the devices on the message delivery route, and the facsimile conversion device need not have a mechanism for handling the facsimile number information as described above. Not be. Therefore, it is hardly feasible, especially when considering a vast network environment such as the Internet.

At present, as a mechanism for delivering a message over the Internet or the like, SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer) is used.
r Protocol). If this SMTP is adopted as a mechanism for message delivery on a network, data can be transferred to a facsimile machine without any modification on the sending computer / device on the delivery route. However, even in that case, it is necessary to transfer facsimile number information.

Conventionally, SMTP has been used in a message delivery system.
When the facsimile number is adopted, as a method of notifying a facsimile number to which facsimile data is transmitted, a method of writing a facsimile number in a user name part of a transmission destination address (hereinafter, a first method), a message body (a mail body) ) Are known as a method of embedding a facsimile number in a facsimile number (hereinafter, a second method).

More specifically, in the first method, in the mail client side, in a mail address composed of a user name, an at sign (@), and a domain name, a user name portion located on the left side of the at mark is included. The facsimile number is described and the message is transmitted (originated). In this case, the facsimile conversion device interprets the transmission destination address (destination) of the message, detects the facsimile number from the user name part, and transmits (transfers) the facsimile data to the public network or the like addressed to the number. .
This method is also disclosed in JP-A-5-14407.

In the first method, the destination user name is information of a facsimile number and is not fixed like a normal user name. Therefore, the facsimile conversion device determines whether or not the message is addressed to the facsimile device based on the domain name. That is, when transmitting a message addressed to a facsimile machine, the domain name of the mail address is described in the facsimile (FAX) domain, and thus the determination is made based on the domain name. Then, when a message addressed to a domain other than the facsimile is received, the message is transferred to the server of the corresponding domain without performing the facsimile number detection processing and the facsimile data conversion processing. Such a mechanism of message transfer is called an MTA (Message Transfer Agent), and in a system employing this MTA mechanism,
The facsimile converter has the function of the MTA inside.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of a facsimile converter having an MTA function. Facsimile converter 4 shown
0 has a function part of the MTA and a function part of facsimile conversion. Of these, the MTA interprets the mail address and determines, based on the domain name of the address, whether the message is addressed to the mailbox of its own computer or a message addressed to the mailbox of another computer. , Actually forward the message. On the other hand, in the facsimile conversion function unit, M
The message transferred from the TA is converted into facsimile data and transmitted to the facsimile machine.

On the other hand, in the second method, as shown in FIG. 6, a received message (mail) is delivered to a specific mailbox 50, and then the mailbox 50 is delivered.
, The facsimile converter 51 reads out the messages one by one. At this time, since the facsimile number is embedded in the body of the message addressed to the facsimile apparatus, the facsimile conversion apparatus 51 extracts the facsimile number from the body of the message read from the mailbox 50, and as described above. The read message is converted into facsimile data (FAX data) and transmitted to the facsimile machine.

In the second method, the address of a normal mailbox is described as the destination address of the message.
Does not need to have the function of the MTA.

[0013]

However, the above two conventional methods have the following disadvantages. First, in the case of the first method, the facsimile number may be described in the user name portion of the transmission destination address. Therefore, the message is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus by the same operation as the normal message transmission (message transmission to the mailbox). Although it can be sent, the processing part of the facsimile conversion device 40 must have the function of the MTA integrally, so that the processing in the facsimile conversion device 40 is complicated and a problem is liable to occur.

In the case of the second system, only the functions of interpreting the message text and converting / transmitting the facsimile data need to be realized as the functions of the facsimile conversion device 51. Therefore, the system is inexpensive and has a simple configuration. Although the user who sends (creates) the message needs to embed the facsimile number in the body of the message when creating the message body, the user can send the message to the facsimile machine by the same operation as the normal message transmission. Did not.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is directed to a message communication system for converting a message transmitted via a network into facsimile data and transmitting the data to a facsimile apparatus. A system configuration is adopted in which a description area of a facsimile number to which facsimile data is transmitted is set in a comment portion that is not used for message delivery in the message destination address information.

In the message communication system having the above configuration, the message destination address information includes:
Since the facsimile number is written in the comment part (the area that is ignored as an address in SMTP) that is not used for message delivery, the user who creates / sends the message sends a normal message (general electronic mail). Facsimile number can be described in the same format as e-mail). As the destination address of the message, since the address portion used for message delivery is unique address information existing on the network, the MTA that transfers the message by address interpretation is used.
This eliminates the need to integrate the function into the facsimile conversion function unit.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a message communication system to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, mail clients 1, 1,... Each comprise a personal computer or the like, and these are connected to a mail server 3 via a network 2 such as a LAN. The mail server 3 has the respective mail clients 1, 1,.
Has an MTA 4 for managing the transfer of messages (mails) transmitted from the Internet, and collectively manages mailboxes 5 used by a plurality of mail clients 1, 1,. The mail server 3 is connected to the Internet 6 via a communication line.

On the Internet 6, another mail server 7 is connected together with the mail server 3. And, like the above-mentioned mail server 3, the other mail server 7 also has the MTA 8 and the mailbox 9. Further, a facsimile converter 10 is connected to the mail server 7. The facsimile conversion device 10 is also connected to a public network 11 via a public line, and a facsimile device 12 is connected to the public network 11.

Here, in the message communication system according to the present invention, when the current standard protocol, SMTP, is used as a message (mail) delivery mechanism on the Internet 6, the following address information is used as the address information of the message transmission destination. The description format is adopted.

That is, the destination address information 13 of the message (mail) specified by the SMTP is basically
It consists of a user name, an at sign (＠), and a domain name. However, user name, at mark (＠)
And the description part 13a of the domain name in square brackets "<>"
, The other description portion 13b is ignored as a comment and is not used for message delivery (R
FC822). Therefore, in the present invention, the comment portion 13b not used for message delivery is set in the facsimile number description area.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure in the message communication system. First, in step S1, the mail client 1 describes a destination address in the above-mentioned address format "facsimile number <user name @ domain name>" and transmits a message (mail) (step S1).

FIG. 3 shows an example of a message transmission screen in the mail client 1. In this transmission screen, the information of the above-mentioned transmission destination address is described in the item of "destination". That is, in the field of "Destination of transmission screen", the part enclosed by square brackets is the address "fax@inet.co.jp" addressed to the mailbox 9 of the mail server 7 having a function of transferring a message to the facsimile conversion device. ”Is written before (left side) the facsimile number“ 03-333
3-4444 ". The facsimile number may be described after the domain name (on the right side) if it is outside the brackets.

Next, in step S2, the message transmitted from the mail client 1 is sent to the MTA 4 of the mail server 3. At this time, the MTA 4 stores the message in the corresponding mailbox 5 if the message is addressed to the mailbox 5 managed by itself. However, in the message transmission process in step S1, the address is addressed to the MTA 8 of the mail server 7, so the MTA 4 transfers the message to the target MTA 8. Thereby, the message transmitted from the mail client 1 is sent to the mail server 7 (MTA 8) via the Internet 6.

Subsequently, in step S3, the MTA
MTA of the mail server 7
8 accepts. The message received at this time is MT
Since the message is addressed to A8, the MTA 8 stores the message in the mailbox 9 managed by itself. Then
In step S4, the message stored in the mailbox 9 by the MTA 8 is converted to the facsimile
0 takes out.

Next, the facsimile converter 10 searches the header portion of the message extracted from the mailbox 9 and, based on the destination address information included in the header portion, the comment portion 13b (see FIG. 1).
The facsimile number described in (1) is read and obtained as transfer destination information of the facsimile data (step S5).

Further, in the facsimile conversion device 10,
After converting the message extracted from the mailbox 9 into facsimile data, the facsimile data is transmitted to the public network 11 to the facsimile number acquired in step S5 (steps S6 and S7). This allows
The message transmitted from the mail client 1 can be transferred to the facsimile machine 12 with the correct number specified by the user.

By setting the description area of the facsimile number to which facsimile data is to be transmitted in the address information of the destination of the message and in the comment portion not used for message delivery, the mail client 1
On the side of the user who operates, the facsimile number can be described in a format similar to that of a general electronic mail. This makes it possible to send a message to the facsimile machine 12 with exactly the same operation as normal message transmission (mail transmission).

Further, since the facsimile number is described in the comment part of the destination address information, an address to which a facsimile number is added can be used without changing various MTA on the Internet. Further, since a ball box existing on the Internet is specified as a message destination address (destination), the existing e-mail mechanism can be used without any change.

In addition to this, the facsimile number is not described in the destination address (user name) itself used for message delivery as in the above-mentioned conventional publication (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-1407). It is not necessary to integrally provide a function of the MTA for analyzing the message and transferring the message in a facsimile conversion function unit (facsimile conversion device or the like). This makes it possible to completely separate the MTA function unit that transfers messages on the Internet from the facsimile conversion function unit that converts a message into facsimile data and transmits it.

In the above-described embodiment, the format in which the facsimile number is described outside the portion enclosed by the square brackets in the transmission destination address information is adopted.
According to the rules, a format in which a facsimile number is enclosed in parentheses before or after “user name, at mark (＠), domain name” is also permitted, and even if this format is adopted, Similar effects can be obtained (RFC8
22).

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, a facsimile number can be described in the same format as a general electronic mail, so that a user who sends a message transmits a normal message (mail transmission). It is possible to send a message to the facsimile machine by exactly the same operation as described above. Further, since the functional unit of the MTA and the functional unit of the facsimile conversion can be completely separated, the processing in the single functional unit can be simplified. As a result, it is possible to provide a message communication system that can reduce the occurrence of troubles as a system and is excellent in maintainability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a message communication system to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a specific processing procedure of the message communication system in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message transmission screen.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional message communication system.

FIG. 5 is a diagram (part 1) for explaining a conventional facsimile number notification method.

FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 2) for explaining a conventional facsimile number notification method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Mail client 2 Network 3, 7 Mail server 4, 8 MTA 5, 9 Mailbox 6 Internet 10 Facsimile conversion device 11 Public network 12 Facsimile device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A message communication system for converting a message transmitted via a network into facsimile data and transmitting the facsimile data to a facsimile apparatus, wherein a description area of a facsimile number to which the facsimile data is transmitted is transmitted to a destination of the message. A message communication system characterized in that it is set in a comment part that is not used in message delivery in address information. 2. The message communication system according to claim 1, wherein: a receiving unit that receives a message transmitted via the network; and the facsimile number from destination address information of the message received by the receiving unit. Acquiring means for acquiring the facsimile data converted by the receiving means, and transmitting means for transmitting the facsimile data converted by the converting means to a facsimile number acquired by the acquiring means. A message communication system comprising: