JPH1185640A - Communication terminal equipment with electronic mail function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To transmit mail while handling it as a confidential by providing a means for discriminating whether or not the electronic mail is to be transmitted confidentially and a means for transmitting the mail to a header part while containing information showing confidential transmission in the case of confidential transmission. SOLUTION: When confidentially transmitting the electronic mail, a main control part 1 transmits the mail while embedding the information showing the confidential transmission into a line where the user of the header part can describe arbitrary information. When transmitting the mail while utilizing a function like multipart provided by the MIME of a standard for combining the main bodies of plural messages and transmitting them as one piece of mail, for example, the main control part 1 transmits the mail while adding the information showing the confidential transmission to the main body of the message to be confidentially transmitted. When the information showing the confidential transmission is detected from the information added to the header of the received electronic mail or the main body of the message, further, the main control part 1 confidentially receives the main body of the message related to this information and when a confidential party inputs a password, the mail is printed out.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication terminal device such as a facsimile device having a function of connecting to electronic mail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a computer communication network which connects a local computer communication network with a communication line and distributes e-mail via a networked Internet or the like has become widespread. The computer communication network has an excellent error correction function and can communicate with computers not only in Japan but also abroad simply by paying the communication cost to the nearest provider (a connection company to the computer communication network).

[0003] The communication procedure and communication system of the conventional G3 facsimile apparatus are different from those of the computer communication network.
Cannot directly connect to computer communication network. However, even image data such as a transmission original can be transmitted to a computer communication network by converting the image data into an electronic mail format.

[0004] When a facsimile apparatus having an e-mail communication function receives mail, it accesses a network and sends a facsimile in a mailbox assigned to each mail address on a hard disk of a mail server for storing the transmitted mail. Check the device mailbox and download any available email.

[0005]

The downloaded mail is basically automatically printed out as in the case of facsimile communication. However, some high-performance devices having an e-mail communication function have a confidential reception function of printing out an e-mail only when a specific user having a password inputs the password. However, even with such a high-performance device, it was not possible to transmit the mail as confidential.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and has been disclosed by embedding information indicating confidential transmission in a header portion of mail or in additional information of a message body, and transmitting and receiving the information. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication terminal device with an e-mail function, such as a facsimile device, which can receive and transmit confidential mail when confidential transmission information is detected from the mail.

[0007]

A communication terminal device with an e-mail function according to the first invention has an e-mail transmission function comprising a message body encoded in a transmission format and a header portion including related information. Communication terminal device,
It is characterized by comprising means for determining whether or not confidential transmission of an e-mail, and means for transmitting the confidential transmission including information indicating confidential transmission in the header section.

In the first invention, when confidential transmission of an electronic mail is performed, information indicating confidential transmission is embedded in a line of the header portion where a user can describe arbitrary information and transmitted. Therefore,
Mail can be sent as confidential.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication terminal device with an e-mail function, the transmission function of an e-mail comprising one or a plurality of message bodies coded into a transmission format and added with information indicating a data type thereof. A communication terminal device comprising: means for determining whether or not a message body is to be confidentially transmitted; and, in the case of confidential transmission, means for adding information indicating confidential transmission to the message body and transmitting the message body. And

[0010] In the second invention, for example, MIME (Multipurpose Internet M) which is a standard that allows a plurality of message bodies of different types to be combined and transmitted by one mail.
When sending an email using a function such as multipart provided by ailExtensions), information indicating confidential transmission is added to the body of the message to be transmitted.
Therefore, the mail can be transmitted as a confidential message in message units.

A communication terminal device with an e-mail function according to a third aspect of the present invention is a communication terminal device having an e-mail reception function, wherein: means for detecting information indicating confidential transmission from the received e-mail; Means for confidentially receiving the relevant message body when detected.

In the third invention, when information indicating confidential transmission is detected from the header of the received e-mail and the additional information of the message body, the message body associated with this information is confidentially received. Print out when is entered. Therefore, the confidentially transmitted mail is confidentially received regardless of the setting on the receiving side.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile apparatus as a communication terminal apparatus with an electronic mail function according to the present invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, the Internet is used as a computer communication network. The main control unit 1 not only controls each component of the hardware of the apparatus through a bus, but also converts the image data of the original into MH, MR, MMR based on the software stored in the ROM 6.
Communication procedures including encoding / decoding to encode or decode according to encoding methods such as image (TIFF) conversion, binary text conversion, mail editing, modem switching, RS232C control by AT command, etc. Run the software.

In the present embodiment, when confidential transmission of an e-mail is performed, the main control unit 1 embeds information indicating confidential transmission in a line of the header portion where a user can write arbitrary information, and transmits it. The main control unit 1 transmits an e-mail using a function such as multi-part provided by MIME, for example.
Information indicating confidential transmission is added to the message body to be confidentially transmitted, and transmitted. Further, when the main control unit 1 detects the information indicating the confidential transmission from the header of the received e-mail and the additional information of the message body, the main control unit 1 confidentially receives the message body related to this information, and the confidential partner transmits, for example, a password. Print out as you type.

In image conversion, at the time of transmission, G3 format image data is converted into TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), which is a general image format used in computers, and at the time of reception, TIFF to G3 format image data is converted. Convert to TIFF is published by Adobe Systems, and defines various Classes that handle not only black and white binary but also black and white multi-valued and full color. One of them, CLASS F, defines G3 format image data, which is image data of a document in which image data of the document is encoded by an encoding method such as MH, MR, or MMR. Therefore,
It can be converted to TIFF by adding TIFF header information of CLASS F to the head of G3 format image data.

In the binary text conversion, binary data is converted into text data at the time of transmission, and text data is converted into binary data at the time of reception. There are computers on the Internet that cannot handle binary data e-mail. When transmitting binary data such as TIFF image data, the data is first converted to text data so that the e-mail reaches the destination. Text data handled on the Internet
It is defined as a 7-bit code in RFC (Request For Comments) 822, a document issued by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force).

Therefore, conversion is performed using the MIME base64 or the like. According to this, 6-bit binary data is 64
Character (uppercase and lowercase alphabets, numbers, +, /) and can be converted to text data. MIME is specified in RFC1521.

In the mail editing, at the time of transmission, mail header information is added to the TIFF image data converted into text data to edit the data into an e-mail format, and at the time of reception, the mail header information is removed from the data in the e-mail format, Extracts only TIFF image data converted to data. Since it is specified that predetermined header information is added to e-mail on the Internet as e-mail management information, the "From: (user's Internet e-mail address) ) ”,“ To: (Internet e-mail address of the other party) ”,“ Subject: (title) ”, etc.

The reading section 2 reads an original by using a CCD or the like and outputs image data of a black and white binary original. The recording unit 3 includes an electrophotographic printer or the like, and records image data of a document received from another G3 facsimile apparatus or the Internet. The display unit 4 includes a display such as a liquid crystal display (abbreviated as LCD), and displays an operation state of the apparatus, image data of a document, and the like. The operation unit 5 includes various function keys such as a numeric keypad, a one-touch key, a program one-touch key, and an input mode switch necessary for operating the apparatus. Input is also possible.

The ROM 6 stores software necessary for the operation of the facsimile machine. The RAM 7 is composed of an SRAM, a flash memory, or the like, and stores temporary data generated when executing software. In the RAM 7, in addition to the user ID and password for each user code assigned to a plurality of users of this apparatus, whether or not it is necessary to set functions such as periodic mail check, automatic printout, confidential reception, and the like. A user table for registering the necessity of confidential transmission for each destination is provided.

The image memory 8 is composed of a DRAM or the like, and stores image data of a document or the like. The modem 9 is a modem for performing facsimile communication of image data of a document read by the reading unit 2 and has no data communication function. The data modem 10 is, for example, a modem for data communication that communicates image data of a document converted into an electronic mail via the Internet, and includes, for example, an external telephone terminal provided on a chip of the NCU 11 and a telephone. Connected with a cable for
An external I / F 12 for connection to a personal computer, etc.
It is connected by a serial port and RS232C. NC
U11 closes and opens the analog line.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams showing an example of the format of a MIME header created by the communication device with an e-mail function of the present invention. FIG. 2 shows a case where confidential information indicating confidential transmission is embedded in the header portion. FIG. 3 shows an example of a format when confidential information is added to a multi-part message body. According to RFC 822, a mail message consists of a "header line" followed by a blank line, and a "message body". MIME has extended the RFC822 definition by adding the following header:

"MIME-Version" indicates agreement of MIME. “Co
"ntent-Description" provides an additional human-readable description. "Content-Type" specifies the type of data contained in the message. "Content-Transfer-Encoding"
Specifies how to encode the data into 7-bit text. Although not shown in this example, “Message-
“ID” is an ID for uniquely identifying the body of the message.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the communication device with an e-mail function of the present invention, in the above-described binary / text conversion, binary data such as TIFF image data is converted to MIME.
When converting to text data once using Base64, embed the confidential information character string "X-Shinten" in the "Content-Description" line of the header, or the header equivalent part of the multi-part message body Embed the confidential information character string "X-Shinten" in

In MIME, "Content-Type" and "Content-
Transfer-Encoding "defines that the format of the message body is specified in three layers. The first layer is a rough type that identifies the general type of data," text "" audio "" image ”“ video ”“ applic
ation ”,“ message ”, and“ multipart ”.
The layer specifies the exact type of data in the message in addition to the type specified in layer 1, "text / plain""audio / basic"
“Image / tiff” “video / mpeg” “application / octet-st
Ream ”etc. The third layer is 7-bit ASCII data
Specify the encoding method.

Using the "multipart" type of the first layer,
Multiple parts, each of a different format, can be combined into one message. The most common “multipart / mixed” of this type is that each has its own Content-Ty
A message is composed of multiple parts with pe headers. Each part is separated by a character string defined by a "boundary" (preceded by two hyphens). The end of the message is indicated by "-(boundary character string)-".

Next, the procedure for embedding confidential information in the header portion of the mail as shown in FIG. 2A and transmitting it confidentially, and the procedure for confidentially receiving the mail transmitted confidentially in this way, are shown in FIGS. 5 will be described. In a mail transmission, when a user places a document on a platen and reads the document, the image data of the document is MH → MMR encoded and stored in the image memory 8. Alternatively, the character data input by the user through the operation unit 5 is MMR encoded and stored in the image memory 8. When the user enters a user code (step S1) and an email address (step S1)
2) If the confidential transmission to the destination is set (ON) with reference to the user table in the RAM 7, the apparatus sets confidential transmission (step S3). The setting of the confidential transmission may be manually set by the user by key input or the like, instead of being registered in the user table.

When the user presses the start key (step
S4), encode the MMR encoded data stored in the image memory 8 into the MH → TIFF format (step S5). Next, a MIME header is created (step S6), and a confidential transmission character string is set in the MIME header as shown in FIG. 2 (step S7). The message body is encoded into the MIME format (step S8), and the mail including the MIME header and the message body in the MIME format is uploaded to the network (step S9).

In receiving the mail, the mail is downloaded from the network (step S11), the MIME header is analyzed (step S12), and the confidential transmission character string is searched.
RAM 7 indicates whether confidential transmission is set (ON) or not (OFF).
(Step S13). The message body is decoded from MIME format to TIFF → MH → MMR format (step S14
), Referring to the data stored in the RAM 7 to determine whether the mail is set for confidential transmission (step S15).
).

If the mail is set to confidential transmission, the confidential message is received irrespective of the setting in the user table of the own device (step S16), and the confidential partner user inputs a password and instructs printout. Print out the email. On the other hand, in the case of a mail for which confidential transmission is not set, processing such as automatic printout is executed in accordance with the setting of the user table of the own device (step S17).

The procedure for adding confidential information to the multi-part message body as shown in FIG. 3 and confidentially transmitting it, and the procedure for confidentially receiving the mail confidentially transmitted in this way, are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. This will be described based on a flowchart. In a mail transmission, when a user places a document on a platen and reads the document, the image data of the document is MH → MMR encoded and stored in the image memory 8. Alternatively, the character data input by the user through the operation unit 5 is MMR encoded and stored in the image memory 8. When the user inputs the other party's e-mail address (step S21), a screen for creating a MIME header in which this destination is embedded in the “To:” line of the header is displayed. The user enters data in each field of the header, and “Co
When “multipart / mixed” is specified as the “ntent-Type”, the user is requested to input the data type of the message portion, and the user is inquired whether or not the message is a confidential transmission portion (step S22).

When the user designates confidential transmission by a predetermined key operation such as "text B" in FIG. 3, the character string of the confidential information ("X-Shinten" in the example of FIG. 3) is displayed together with the data type information. ) Is stored in the image memory 8 (step
S23), followed by storing the text data of the message body (step S25), and thereafter storing the boundary character string (“--IfAxBoUnDaRyIfAxBoUnDaRy” in the example of FIG. 3) (step S26).

On the other hand, when the user does not designate confidential transmission, as in “Text A” in FIG. 3, a character string related to the display of the message body together with the data type information (FIG. 2 and FIG. 3). In the example, "charset = iso-2022-jp")
Is stored in the image memory 8 (step S24), followed by the text data of the message body (step S24).
S25), the boundary character string ("--IfAxBoUn
DaRyIfAxBoUnDaRy ”) is stored after that (step S2
6).

It is determined whether there is a next message body to be transmitted in the multi-part (step S27). If there is a next part, the processes of steps S22 to S26 are performed in the same manner as described above. When the processing of steps S22 to S26 for all the message bodies to be transmitted in the multi-part is completed (NO in step S27), an end code (“--IfAx
BoUnDaRyIfAxBoUnDaRy-- ") is stored in the image memory 8 (step S28).

When the user presses the start key, the MMR encoded data stored in the image memory 8 is encoded into the MH → TIFF format, the message body is encoded into the MIME format, and the MIME header and a plurality of messages in the MIME format are encoded. The mail composed of the main body is uploaded to the network (step S29).

In receiving the mail, the mail is downloaded from the network (step S31), the MIME header is image-converted and stored in the image memory 8 (step S3).
2). When a boundary string is detected from the message body, the message body up to the boundary string is stored in RAM.
7 is stored in a predetermined area (step S33).

It is determined what the character string of the data type of the message body is (step S34). If the character string is confidential information, the image data of the message "Not displayed because it is confidential data" is stored in the image memory 8. It is stored (step S35). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S34 that the character string of the data type includes a character string relating to display, the message body is converted into an image and stored in the image memory 8 (step S36).

It is determined whether a mail end code has been detected (step S37). If no mail end code has been detected, the next boundary character string is detected, and the message body up to that boundary character string is stored in RAM. 7 (step S33), and the same processing as described above is repeated. Steps S34 to S3 until mail end code is detected
When the mail end code is detected (YES in step S37), the contents of the image memory 8 are printed (step S38).

It goes without saying that the character data from the operation unit 5 can be MIME-converted and transmitted as text data without being encoded into an image. The receiving side uses a character generator (not shown) to convert the text data into an image and display it.

Since a document to be confidentially transmitted is generally important, if the data is encrypted and transmitted, the security is enhanced.

[0041]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when confidential transmission of an e-mail is performed, the communication terminal device having the e-mail function embeds information indicating confidential transmission in a line of the header portion where a user can write arbitrary information and transmits the confidential transmission. Therefore, there is an excellent effect that the mail can be transmitted as confidential.

The communication terminal device with an e-mail function according to the second aspect of the present invention transmits information indicating confidential transmission to a message body to be confidential transmitted when transmitting mail using a function such as multi-part provided by MIME. Since the mail is added and transmitted, there is an excellent effect that the mail can be transmitted as a confidential message in the unit of a message body.

When the communication terminal device with the electronic mail function of the third invention detects information indicating confidential transmission from the header of the received e-mail and the additional information of the message main body, the confidential reception of the message main body related to this information is performed. However, since the confidential partner prints out when, for example, entering a password, the confidentially transmitted mail is confidentially received irrespective of the setting on the receiving side.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication terminal device with an e-mail function of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is created by the communication device with an e-mail function of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a MIME header.

FIG. 3 is created by the communication device with an e-mail function of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a MIME header.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an operation of the communication terminal device with an e-mail function according to the present invention when transmitting a mail.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an operation of the communication terminal device with an e-mail function of the present invention when receiving a mail.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an operation of the communication terminal device with an e-mail function of the present invention when transmitting a mail.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an operation of the communication terminal device with an e-mail function of the present invention when receiving a mail.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Main control unit 6 ROM 7 RAM 10 Data modem 12 External I / F

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A communication terminal device having a function of transmitting an e-mail composed of a message body encoded in a transmission format and a header portion including related information, determines whether or not to confidentially transmit the e-mail. And a means for transmitting, in the case of confidential transmission, information indicating the confidential transmission in the header section, and transmitting the confidential transmission. 2. A communication terminal device having an e-mail transmission function comprising one or a plurality of message bodies each of which is encoded in a transmission format and to which information indicating a data type is added, respectively, wherein: A communication terminal device with an e-mail function, comprising: means for determining whether or not confidential transmission is to be performed, and means for adding information indicating confidential transmission to a message body for confidential transmission. 3. A communication terminal device having a function of receiving an e-mail, means for detecting information indicating confidential transmission from the received e-mail, and confidential reception of a related message body when the information is detected. A communication terminal device with an e-mail function.