JP2002218145A - Facsimile system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a facsimile system that can attain facsimile communication in real time by utilizing the Internet even when a facsimile terminal is connected to a local system. SOLUTION: A facsimile terminal 12 is connected to a relay server 4, is authenticated by identification information and then maintains connection. A facsimile terminal 22 is similarly connected to the relay server 4 to maintain the connection. After the facsimile terminal 12 sends a connection request to the facsimile terminal 12 to the relay server 4 to establish communication between the facsimile terminals, when the facsimile terminal 12 transmits an image to the relay server 4, the relay server 4 relays the image and transmits the image to the facsimile terminal 22. Since the facsimile terminal 22 is connected in advance to the relay server 4, the facsimile terminal 22 can receive the image transmitted from the relay server 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile system for real-time facsimile communication using a facsimile apparatus connected to an internal network using an external network such as the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, Internet facsimile communication for transmitting and receiving images using the Internet has been performed. As one of the methods, a method of transferring an image in a format such as e-mail is used. However, this method cannot perform communication in real time.

[0003] A method of real-time communication using the Internet has been developed. However, a facsimile apparatus needs to accept a connection request from another facsimile apparatus at the time of reception. For that purpose, the facsimile apparatus has a function as a server, and a global IP address must be acquired so that the apparatus can be specified from the Internet.

However, in a system such as a company,
In many cases, the connection between the local system in the company and the Internet is collectively performed by a gateway device, and all the network devices in the company are connected to the local system. In such a system configuration, it is required that the facsimile apparatus can be connected to the local system.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a system in which a facsimile apparatus is connected to a local system. In the figure, 1 and 2 are local systems, 3 is the Internet,
11 and 21 are terminals, 12 and 22 are facsimile machines, 1
3 and 23 are gateways, and 14 and 24 are LANs.
The local system 1 includes a terminal 11, a facsimile machine 1,
2, a gateway 13 and the like are connected by an internal network such as a LAN 14. The gateway 13 is connected to the Internet 3 together with the LAN 14, and has a private I / O in the local system 1.
P address and global IP in Internet 3
Performs conversion with the address. This enables the use of the Internet from various network devices such as the terminal 11 and the facsimile device 12 on the LAN 14.
The same applies to the local system 2, where the terminal 21, the facsimile machine 22, the gateway 23, etc.
Are connected. Gateway 23
Is connected to the Internet 3 together with the LAN 24, and converts between a private IP address in the local system 2 and a global IP address in the Internet 3. Thus, the terminal 2 on the LAN 24
The Internet can be used from various network devices such as the facsimile device 1 and the facsimile device 22. Of course, in each of the local systems 1 and 2, various other devices are connected by the LANs 14 and 24.

In such a system, one or more global IP addresses are normally assigned to the local systems 1 and 2, but a global IP address is assigned to each network device in the local systems 1 and 2. Not necessarily. A private IP address is allocated to each network device in each of the local systems 1 and 2, and the gateways 13 and 23 convert the private IP address into a global IP address using a function such as NAT or IP masquerade. are doing. Such IP
For example, in the local system 1, the terminal 11 and the facsimile device 12 use the Internet 3 via the gateway 13 using the gateways 13 and 23 having an address conversion function. Also local system 2
Also, the terminal 21 and the facsimile machine 22 use the Internet 3 via the gateway 23.

The gateways 13 and 23 or another network device have a function such as a firewall or a proxy server, and a configuration is also used in which each terminal uses the Internet 3 via these devices. Improves system safety.

Here, for example, when an image is to be transmitted from the Internet 3 to the facsimile apparatus 12 in the local system 1, although the global IP address of the gateway 13 can be known, the private IP address of the facsimile apparatus 12 is changed. I can't know. Therefore, the facsimile machine 12 cannot be accessed from outside the local system 1 by a normal connection method. That is, the facsimile machine 12 cannot receive an image transmitted via the Internet 3.

In some cases, sites that accept access are restricted by the function of the firewall of the gateway 13, and the reception of images by the facsimile apparatus 12 is also restricted by such a function. Of course, the same applies to the facsimile machine 22 in the local system 2.

As described above, when a facsimile apparatus that performs facsimile communication using the Internet is connected to a local system, there is a problem that it is not possible to receive data from another facsimile apparatus via the Internet. Further, even if an attempt is made to transmit to a facsimile apparatus in the local system, the transmission cannot be performed to such a destination because the IP address of the destination is not known.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and secures the security of a local system and realizes real-time processing using the Internet even when a facsimile apparatus is connected to the local system. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile system capable of facsimile communication.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a facsimile system, a facsimile device connected to an internal network, a gateway device connecting an internal network to an external network, and a relay device connected to the external network and relaying between the gateway devices. And the facsimile apparatus transmits / receives an image by connecting to the relay server in advance via the gateway apparatus.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile system including a facsimile machine connected to an internal network, a gateway device connecting the internal network to an external network, and a plurality of relay servers connected to the external network. Communicates with one or more of the gateway devices and one or more other relay servers to relay between the gateway devices, and the facsimile device is configured to communicate with any one of the gateway devices in advance through the gateway device. It is characterized by transmitting and receiving images while connected to a relay server.

As described above, by connecting the facsimile apparatus to the relay server in advance via the gateway apparatus, two-way communication between the relay server and the facsimile apparatus becomes possible. Therefore, even when an image is received from another facsimile machine or the like, the image can be received without any trouble by relaying the image by the relay server. Of course, the image can be transmitted without any trouble.

Further, the relay server can manage the connected facsimile apparatuses according to identification information unique to each facsimile apparatus. As described above, the facsimile machine on the receiving side cannot be specified by the IP address. Therefore, it is possible to specify the facsimile apparatus on the receiving side from the facsimile apparatus on the transmitting side by using the identification information. Further, by registering this identification information in advance, it is possible to secure security in the local system, for example, to eliminate connection of an unregistered unauthorized transmission-side device.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a facsimile system according to the present invention. In the figure,
The same parts as those in FIG. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. 4 is a relay server, 41 is a communication unit, and 42 is a connection information holding unit. The relay server 4 is the Internet 3
And has a global IP address. A login request for the global IP address from the facsimile machine is accepted, and a connection with the facsimile machine is maintained to secure a communication path. Such a connection is maintained between a plurality of facsimile machines. Then, at the time of facsimile transmission from the first facsimile apparatus to the second facsimile apparatus, the relay server 4 receives an image using the communication path between the first facsimile apparatus and the relay server 4, and further, the relay server 4 and the second The relay server 4 transmits an image using a communication path with the second facsimile machine. In this way, the communication between the first facsimile apparatus and the second facsimile apparatus is realized by relaying the communication between the first facsimile apparatus and the second facsimile apparatus.

For example, the relay server 4 can connect to the gateway 13 in the local system 1,
The terminal 11 and the facsimile machine 12 cannot be connected. However, the global IP of the relay server 4
If the address is used, the terminal 11 or the facsimile machine 1
2 can connect to the relay server 4 via the gateway 13. Accordingly, by making a login request from the facsimile machine 12 to the relay server 4, bidirectional communication between the relay server 4 and the facsimile machine 12 that has made the login request becomes possible. Similarly,
The relay server 4 can connect to the gateway 23 in the local system 2, but cannot connect to the terminal 21 or the facsimile machine 22. However, if the global IP address of the relay server 4 is used, it is possible to connect to the relay server 4 from the terminal 21 or the facsimile machine 22 via the gateway 23. Accordingly, by making a login request from the facsimile device 22 to the relay server 4, the relay server 4
Two-way communication between the facsimile machine 22 and the facsimile machine 22 that has issued the login request becomes possible. As described with reference to FIG. 4, the facsimile device 12 and the facsimile device 2
No direct communication can be made between the two.

For example, when the facsimile device 12 in the local system 1 and the facsimile device 22 in the local system 2 make a login request to the relay server 4 and a communication path is established, the relay server 4
Two-way communication with the facsimile apparatus 2
2 is possible. Intermediate server 4
When receiving a communication request from the facsimile device 12 to the facsimile device 22, the device receives the image sent from the facsimile device 12 and transmits the received image to the facsimile device 22. Thereby, the facsimile machine 1
2 performs facsimile communication to the facsimile apparatus 22. Conversely, it is also possible to receive an image sent from the facsimile device 22 and transmit the received image to the facsimile device 12. Thus, facsimile communication between the facsimile machine 12 and the facsimile machine 22 is realized.

The relay server 4 can be configured to include, for example, a communication unit 41 and a connection information holding unit 42. The communication section 41 can communicate with a plurality of facsimile machines via the Internet 3. When the communication unit 41 receives the connection request information from the facsimile apparatus communicably connected, the communication unit 41 performs communication between the communicable facsimile apparatus and the facsimile apparatus that has requested connection according to the connection request information. Relay image transfer. For example, the facsimile apparatus 12 and the facsimile apparatus 22 are communicably connected to each other by the communication unit 41, and upon receiving connection request information with the facsimile apparatus 22 from the facsimile apparatus 12, the facsimile apparatus 12 and the communication unit 4
1 and transfer the image between the communication unit 41 and the facsimile device 22 to substantially realize the communication between the facsimile device 12 and the facsimile device 22. Of course, it is possible to secure a plurality of connections with one facsimile machine, and it is possible to communicate with a plurality of facsimile machines using a plurality of connections.

The connection information holding unit 42 holds connection information of a facsimile machine that can communicate with the communication unit 41, and performs authentication when the communication unit 41 performs communication by connecting to the facsimile machine and checks a connection state. Can be used for The connection information includes, for example, identification information such as a user ID and a password. When the connection information is received from the facsimile apparatus, identification information such as a user ID and a password is received, authentication is performed, and it is determined whether communication is possible. it can. Further, the connection information may include various setting information at the time of communication. Further, it is possible to hold information such as whether or not a registered facsimile apparatus logs in and a communication path is secured, and whether or not communication is being performed with another facsimile apparatus, as a connection state. .

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a communication procedure in the first embodiment of the facsimile system of the present invention. The communication procedure shown in FIG. 2 is executed using TCP / IP, and connects to the relay server 4, maintains the connection, requests connection to the facsimile machine, transfers data to the facsimile machine, terminates connection with the facsimile machine, The connection with the relay server is terminated. Here, as an example, a case is shown in which communication is performed between the facsimile device 12 in the local system 1 and the facsimile device 22 in the local system 2 in FIG. The facsimile machine 12 and the facsimile machine 22 are registered in the relay server 4 in advance as users.
The registration information includes a user ID and a password as identification information. These pieces of identification information are stored in the connection information storage unit 42 as part of the connection information.

The facsimile machine 12 connects to the relay server 4 via the gateway 13 in (1), for example, after the start-up or when instructed by the operator,
The user logs in and establishes a TCP / IP connection (connection 1) with the relay server 4. Since the facsimile device 12 is a network device in the local system 1, it cannot be directly accessed from the relay server 4, but can be connected to the relay server 4 by logging in from the facsimile device 12. Since the TCP / IP connection is capable of bidirectional data communication, if the facsimile device 12 and the relay server 4 are connected, communication from the facsimile device 12 to the relay server 4 and from the relay server 4 to the facsimile device 12 It can be performed.

After the connection 1 is established, the facsimile apparatus 12 sends identification information such as a user ID and a password to the relay server 4 in (2). The relay server 4 checks whether the received identification information such as the user ID and the password is stored in the connection information storage unit 42 as connection information, and authenticates the facsimile machine 12. With this certification,
A connection with an unspecified third party can be avoided, and the security of the local system can be ensured. If the authentication fails, for example, if the identification information is not registered as connection information or the password is wrong, the relay server 4 sends a negative response to the facsimile machine 12 or disconnects the connection 1 as it is. I do. After successful authentication,
In (3), an acknowledgment is made, and thereafter, control is performed so that connection 1 is maintained until connection 1 is disconnected.

When the TCP / IP connection with the relay server 4 is established and the authentication is obtained, the facsimile apparatus 12 periodically switches the relay server 4 in (4) to hold the connection (connection 1). And sends a confirmation response from the relay server 4 in (5). This keeps the connection alive,
Check that the relay server is operating normally.

Similarly, the facsimile apparatus 22 has (1 ')
In step 2, the server connects to the relay server 4 via the gateway 23, logs in, and establishes a TCP / IP connection (connection 2) with the relay server 4. Facsimile machine 22
Is also a network device in the local system 2 and cannot be directly accessed from the relay server 4, but can be connected to the relay server 4 by logging in from the facsimile device 22. The connection 2 causes the facsimile machine 22 to connect to the relay server 4
Can communicate with the facsimile device 22.

After the connection 2 is established, the facsimile device 22 sends identification information such as a user ID and a password to the relay server 4 at (2 '). The relay server 4 checks whether the received identification information such as the user ID and the password is stored in the connection information storage unit 42 as connection information, and authenticates the facsimile device 22. If the authentication fails, for example, if the identification information is not registered as connection information or the password is incorrect, the relay server 4 sends a negative response to the facsimile device 22 or disconnects the connection 2 as it is. I do. If the authentication is successful, an acknowledgment is made in (3 '), and thereafter, control is performed so that connection 2 is maintained until connection 2 is disconnected.

When the TCP / IP connection with the relay server 4 is established and the authentication is obtained, the facsimile apparatus 22 periodically switches the relay server (4 ') in order to hold the connection (connection 2). The relay server 4 sends a connection hold command to the relay server 4 and obtains a confirmation response from the relay server 4 at (5 '). As a result, the connection is maintained, and it is confirmed that the relay server is operating normally.

The connection between the facsimile machine 12 and the relay server 4 and the connection between the facsimile machine 22 and the relay server 4 may be made at any time before the facsimile communication between them. In addition, the connection with the relay server 4 needs to be maintained until the facsimile communication between the two.

When a request to connect to the facsimile machine 22 is issued from the facsimile machine 12, in (6) the facsimile machine 12 issues a connection request to the relay server 4 by designating the user ID of the facsimile machine 22 to be connected to. . Since the facsimile device 22 is a network device in the local system 2, an IP address cannot be obtained. Therefore, although the facsimile device 22 cannot be specified by the IP address, the user ID
Can be specified by using. Note that the user ID of the facsimile machine 22 to be connected can be specified by an arbitrary method, such as acquiring the user ID in advance, or specifying the user ID by checking the list of users logged in from the relay server 4. . The relay server 4 returns an error to the facsimile machine 12 if the facsimile machine 22 corresponding to the designated user ID is not in the login state. If the facsimile device 22 is in the login state and the connection is free, in (7), information indicating that there is a connection request to the facsimile device 22 and the user ID of the facsimile device 12 requesting the connection. Send a connection request notification that includes

The facsimile device 22 stores that the connection used for transmitting the connection request notification is used for connection with the facsimile device 12, and returns an acceptable response in (8). If the connection is rejected, an error is returned. The relay server 4 returns a response from the facsimile device 22 to the facsimile device 12 in (9). At this time, when the response from the facsimile device 22 is acceptable, the fact that the connection 1 and the connection 2 are used for communication between the facsimile device 12 and the facsimile device 22 is stored. When the facsimile device 12 receives the response from the facsimile device 22 and receives an acceptable response, the connection (connection 1) being used is stored as being used for communication with the facsimile device 22. .

After confirming that communication is performed between the facsimile machine 12 and the facsimile machine 22 in this way, the image is actually transmitted after (15). In the example shown in FIG. 2, the facsimile device 12
After it is determined that communication between the facsimile apparatus and the facsimile apparatus 22 is to be performed, a new TCP / IP connection is performed to receive a connection request from another facsimile apparatus or to perform a connection request to another facsimile apparatus. Is established in the relay server 4. That is, the facsimile machine 12 logs in to the relay server 4 in (10) and establishes a TCP / IP connection (connection 3) with the relay server 4, and in (11) the facsimile machine 12 identifies the identification information such as a user ID and a password. To the relay server 4. The relay server 4 authenticates the facsimile machine 12 based on the received identification information such as the user ID and the password, and returns a response in (12). Then, in order to maintain the connection 3, the facsimile machine 12 periodically transmits a connection holding command to the relay server 4 at (13), and the relay server 4 returns a response to the facsimile machine 12 at (14). Similarly, the facsimile machine 22 logs in to the relay server 4 at (10 ') and establishes a TCP / IP connection (connection 4) with the relay server 4, and at (11') the facsimile machine 22 transmits a user ID, a password, etc. The identification information is sent to the relay server 4.
The relay server 4 authenticates the facsimile device 22 based on the received identification information such as the user ID and the password, and returns a response in (12 '). And this connection 4
Is maintained, the facsimile machine 22 periodically transmits a connection holding command to the relay server 4 at (13 '), and the relay server 4 returns a response to the facsimile machine 22 at (14'). If there is no need to secure such an empty connection, the procedures of (10) to (14) or (10 ') to (14') are not necessary. Also,
Even when a plurality of connections are already secured, these steps need not be performed.

After confirming that communication is performed between the facsimile machine 12 and the facsimile machine 22 according to the above (6) to (9), the facsimile machine 12 establishes connection 1 to the relay server 4 in (15). To transmit an image to the facsimile machine 22 using the image data. The relay server 4 receives the image from the facsimile machine 12, and transmits the received image to the facsimile machine 22 using the connection 2 in (16). The facsimile machine 22 receives the image from the facsimile machine 12 transmitted from the relay server 4 using the connection 2 and transmits a response to the facsimile machine 12 to the relay server 4 in (17). The relay server 4 receives a response to the facsimile device 12 from the facsimile device 22, and transmits the received response to the facsimile device 12 using the connection 1 in (18).

In this manner, the connection 1 between the facsimile machine 12 and the relay server 4 and the facsimile machine 22
Connection 2 between the relay server 4 and the
Therefore, communication between the facsimile machine 12 and the facsimile machine 22 can be performed by relaying data. The transmission of the image from the facsimile apparatus 12 to the facsimile apparatus 22 according to (15) to (18) may be repeated a plurality of times. Further, transmission of an image from the facsimile device 22 to the facsimile device 12 may be performed.

When the data transfer between the facsimile machine 12 and the facsimile machine 22 is completed, an end notification is sent from the facsimile machine 12 or the facsimile machine 22. Here, it is assumed that the processing is performed from the facsimile machine 12,
In (19), the facsimile device 12 transmits a termination notification to the facsimile device 22 to the relay server 4 using the connection 1. The relay server 4 transmits the end notification to the facsimile device 22 received from the facsimile device 12 to the facsimile device 22 using the connection 2 in (20).

Note that the communication procedure from when the facsimile apparatus 12 and the facsimile apparatus 22 are connected to the end notification is arbitrary. For example, a procedure in a general real-time Internet facsimile apparatus can be applied.

Facsimile machine 12 that has transmitted the end notification
Transmits a release notification to the relay server 4 indicating that the connection 1 has become free in (21). In addition, the facsimile machine 22 that has received the end notification also transmits a release notification indicating that the connection 2 has become free to the relay server 4 at (21 ′). As a result, the relay server 4 stores that the connection 1 and the connection 2 are no longer used for communication between the facsimile machine 12 and the facsimile machine 22 and become free. In this example, a response to the end notification is not made, but a response may be sent back.

The connection 1 and the connection 2 released as described above periodically perform the connection holding command and the response as shown in (4), (5) or (4 ') and (5'). Thus, the connection between the facsimile device 12 and the relay server 4 and the connection between the facsimile device 22 and the relay server 4 are maintained.

At this point, the facsimile machine 12
Connection 1 and connection 3 are secured between the server and the relay server 4. Similarly, connection 2 and connection 4 are secured between the facsimile machine 22 and the relay server 4. The connection may be left as it is, or these connections may be disconnected when connection 1 and connection 2 are released. Of course, the connection 1 and the connection 2 may be kept, and the connection 3 and the connection 4 may be disconnected.

When the facsimile machine 12 turns off the power or stops the connection to the relay server 4, (2
In 2), the facsimile apparatus 12 notifies the relay server 4 of logout. At this time, if a plurality of connections are secured, any of the connections may be used. Then, the facsimile machine 12 disconnects one or more connections. Here, the facsimile machine 12 has two connections, connection 1 and connection 3, so (2
The connection 1 is disconnected in 3) and the connection 3 is disconnected in (24), and the processing is terminated. The relay server 4 has a facsimile device 12
Receiving the logout notification from the facsimile machine 12
, And disconnect the connections 1 and 3. In addition,
The same applies to the facsimile machine 22.

By executing the above-described procedure, communication can be performed even when each or one of them is a facsimile machine in the local system. Note that connection with the relay server 4 as described above, maintenance of the connection, a connection request to the facsimile machine, data transmission to the facsimile machine, termination of connection with the facsimile machine,
The procedure for terminating the connection with the relay server can be configured so that commands and data exchanged by the application protocol running on the host are kept transparent and have no effect. It is possible to perform communication using the application protocol as it is.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the facsimile system of the present invention. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 5 is a relay server. In the above-described example, an example has been described in which a facsimile apparatus performing facsimile communication is connected to the same relay server. However, the present invention is not limited to this. By performing data transfer between relay servers, facsimile communication can be performed between facsimile apparatuses connected to different relay servers. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the relay server 4 and the relay server 5 perform communication.
Of course, a configuration in which more relay servers exist and communication is performed between them may be used. Further, a configuration in which relay is sequentially performed by three or more relay servers may be employed.

The relay server 5 has the same configuration as the relay server 4, is connected to the Internet 3, and has a global IP address. It is also assumed that a communication path is provided between the relay server 4 and the relay server 5. The network device may be connected to any of the relay servers. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the facsimile device 12 in the local system 1
3 to the relay server 4 and to the local system 2
1 shows an example in which the facsimile apparatus 22 has a communication path secured in the relay server 5. Each of the relay servers 4 and 5 can maintain a connection with a plurality of network devices.

As described above, when the facsimile apparatus 12 and the relay server 4 are connected to each other, two-way communication is possible. When the facsimile apparatus 22 and the relay server 5 are connected to each other, two-way communication is enabled. Communication between the facsimile machine 12 and the facsimile machine 22 is possible using the communication between the facsimile machine 12 and the relay server 5. That is, when an image is to be transmitted from the facsimile device 12 to the facsimile device 22, for example, the image is first transmitted from the facsimile device 12 to the relay server 4. The relay server 4 transfers the image received from the facsimile machine 12 to the relay server 5. The relay server 5 that has received the image transmits the image to the facsimile device 22. Thus, an image can be transmitted from the facsimile device 12 to the facsimile device 22.

A communication procedure for performing such facsimile communication can be performed in substantially the same manner as that shown in FIG. In the example shown in FIG. 3, when transmitting an image from the facsimile apparatus 12 to the facsimile apparatus 22, when the relay server 4 transfers data to the facsimile apparatus 22, the relay server 4 sends the data to the relay server 5, and the relay server 5 transmits the data to the facsimile apparatus 22. 22. The data transmitted from the facsimile device 22 is transmitted to the relay server 4 via the relay server 5 and transmitted to the facsimile device 12. The other steps are almost the same.

When facsimile communication is performed according to such a procedure, in a system having a large number of relay servers, the relay server to which the transmission source facsimile device is connected is connected to which relay server the communication destination facsimile device is connected to. You need to know what you are doing. For example, by specifying each relay server from the source facsimile machine,
Each relay server can relay the image.

However, in order to specify a relay server from a transmission source facsimile apparatus, the user needs to know which facsimile apparatus is connected to which relay server and the connection between the relay servers. As a method for reducing the burden on the user and enabling communication only by specifying the ID of the facsimile machine of the communication partner, it is conceivable that the relay server performs routing. For example, each relay server holds information (connection information) of a facsimile machine connected to each relay server, and each time the connection information changes, the connection information updated for another relay server. Can be configured to be delivered. This makes it possible to always know what facsimile device is connected to each relay server, so that when a connection request is received, the relay server to which the destination facsimile device is connected can be easily determined. be able to. Further, even a facsimile apparatus connected to a different relay server can know the connection status, and can determine whether or not the connection can be made without inquiring another relay server at the time of a connection request, for example. Further, various services can be provided, such as providing a list of facsimile machines with which all relay servers can communicate.

Further, for example, the connection information held in each relay server may be collectively managed by the database server. In this case, the relay server may make an inquiry to the database server to authenticate the facsimile apparatus at the time of login, or may determine the relay server of the communication partner. Further, when a change occurs in the connection information of the connected facsimile machine, the database server may be requested to update the connection information. As a result, the connection information can be shared and used by all the relay servers. Again,
A facsimile machine connected to any of the relay servers can know the connection status, and can determine whether or not the connection can be made without inquiring another relay server at the time of a connection request, for example. In addition, various services can be provided, such as providing a list of facsimile machines with which all relay servers can communicate.

[0048]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a communication path is previously established from a facsimile machine in a local system to a relay server, and a data path is established using this communication path. Relay, so even in a configuration where a facsimile device is connected to the local system,
External facsimile reception can be performed in real time. In addition, by performing authentication at the time of connection to the relay server, the security of the local system can be ensured. Further, when a plurality of relay servers exist, by performing communication between the relay servers, facsimile communication can be performed between facsimile apparatuses connected to different relay servers. According to the present invention, various other effects can be obtained as described above.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of a facsimile system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a communication procedure in the first embodiment of the facsimile system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the facsimile system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a system in which a facsimile apparatus is connected to a local system.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,2… Local system, 3… Internet, 4,
5 ... relay server, 11, 12, 21, 22 ... terminal, 1
3, 23 ... gateway, 14, 24 ... LAN, 41 ...
Communication unit 42: Connection information holding unit.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page F term (reference) 5C062 AA02 AA05 AA13 AA27 AA29 AA35 AB42 AC38 AC43 AE14 AF12 BA00 5C075 AA90 AB90 CD07 EE02 FF90 5K030 GA01 GA15 HA05 HB04 HC01 HC02 HD03 JT05 KA01 LD11 MB

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile device connected to an internal network, a gateway device connecting an internal network to an external network, and a relay server connected to an external network and relaying between the gateway devices, wherein the facsimile device comprises: A facsimile system, wherein the facsimile system is connected to the relay server in advance via the gateway device to transmit and receive images. 2. A facsimile machine connected to an internal network, a gateway device connecting the internal network to an external network, and a plurality of relay servers connected to the external network, wherein the relay server has one or more relay servers. It communicates with the gateway device and one or more other relay servers to relay between the gateway devices, and the facsimile device is connected to one of the relay servers in advance via the gateway device. Facsimile system for transmitting and receiving images. 3. The facsimile system according to claim 1, wherein the relay server manages the connected facsimile apparatuses according to identification information unique to each facsimile apparatus.