JP3055521B2 - Internet facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an Internet facsimile apparatus capable of transmitting data via the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when an image is transmitted to a destination by an Internet facsimile apparatus of this type, the image information is temporarily stored in a mail server at a relay point, and the destination person retrieves the image information from the mail server. Completes the delivery. In order to eliminate the anxiety that the sender cannot confirm whether the image information has reached the destination, the delivery result is usually notified to the sender using an electronic mail.

[0003]

However, when the user of the Internet facsimile apparatus does not obtain the result that the image information has been delivered to the destination, the user needs to perform a retransmission operation, that is, an operation of reading the image again by the scanner. A series of operations had to be performed. This is because, in a conventional Internet facsimile apparatus, when information is transmitted to the outside of the apparatus (that is, a mail server) due to the characteristic of the facsimile apparatus, regardless of whether the information is received by the transmission destination or not. This is because the data was erased from the memory to secure the free space of the memory.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and is intended to re-read an image with a scanner even if the result that the image information has been delivered to the destination cannot be obtained. An object of the present invention is to provide an Internet facsimile apparatus which is excellent in operability without performing a troublesome operation.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an Internet facsimile apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises: a reading means for reading an image to obtain image information;
Storage means for storing image information read by the reading means, Internet transmission / reception means for enabling transmission / reception of the image information via the Internet, and the image information
Public line transmission / reception that can be transmitted / received via a public line
Means, transmission instruction means for issuing an Internet transmission instruction for causing the Internet transmission / reception means to transmit the image information, and, when the image information is transmitted based on the Internet transmission instruction, whether the image information has been transmitted to a destination. A delivery result indicating whether or not the delivery result is received via the internet transmission / reception means, and after transmitting the image information stored in the storage means via the internet transmission / reception means, at least, until it receives a delivery result indicating that the image information has been sent to the destination, and the hold control means that holds the image information in the storage means, the Internet was no already
Receiving the transmission result of the transmission based on the
Delivery result indicating that the result was not sent to the destination
Or an Internet transmission order already made
If the delivery result of the
A public line for causing the public line transmitting / receiving means to transmit the image information
Public line transmission command means for issuing a transmission command .

In the Internet facsimile apparatus, the image information is held in the storage means by the holding control means at least until the delivery result indicating that the image information has been transmitted to the destination is received by the delivery result receiving means. Therefore, when such transmission result is not obtained and the same image information is retransmitted to the same destination, the public line
It can be implemented via. In that case, re-scan the image
There is no need to perform complicated operations such as reading
No.

An Internet facsimile apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention receives a transmission result of transmission based on an Internet transmission command already issued, and receives the transmission result indicating that the transmission result was not transmitted to a transmission destination. In some cases, or in the case where a delivery result of an Internet transmission command already made is not received within a predetermined time, further comprising a repetitive transmission command means for issuing an Internet transmission command for causing the Internet transmitting / receiving means to retransmit the image information. It is.

According to the Internet facsimile apparatus, when a delivery result indicating that transmission via the Internet is completed is not obtained, retransmission of the same image information to the same destination can be repeatedly performed via the Internet. is there.

The Internet facsimile apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is configured such that the Internet facsimile apparatus receives the data by the delivery result receiving means.
Delivery indicating that the delivered delivery result was sent to the destination
If the result is the result, the holding control means
From the stored image information .

According to this Internet facsimile apparatus, the delivery result received by the delivery result receiving means is
Is a delivery result indicating that it was sent to the destination
The image information stored there is deleted from the storage means
I do. This allows unnecessary image information to be saved forever.
Without storing it in the storage means.
Free memory space can be secured .

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an Internet facsimile apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

1, an Internet facsimile apparatus 10 includes a scanner 11, a printer 12, an information compression / decompression unit 13 for compressing information to be transmitted and decompressing received information, and transmitting and receiving information via a LAN. The network control unit 14, which is the main unit that controls the processing to be performed, the modem and line control unit 15, which is the main unit that enables and controls the process of transmitting and receiving information via an analog public line, and the process of transmitting and receiving electronic mail. The mail transmission / reception unit 16 which is the controlling entity, the network control unit 14
, A communication control unit 17 for systematically controlling communication-related units such as a modem and line control unit 15, a speaker 18 for emitting voice and error sounds, a numeric keypad and a character key, and a panel for a start key for starting various operations. Operation unit 19, personal computer interface unit 20, ROM 21 for storing various programs, font data, etc.
And a RAM 22 having an area for temporarily storing transmission / reception information and a communication management area for posting communication results, and an EEPRO for registering a destination mail address and a public line subscription number.
The M23 and the CPU 30 are connected to each other, and the CPU 30 controls and controls the entire units 11 to 23.

In this apparatus, a public line subscription number (hereinafter, referred to as a telephone number) and a mail address can be input using numeric keys or character keys in the panel operation unit 19. Also, enter the destination phone number and mail address in advance.
The information can be registered in the EPROM 23, and one or both of the destinations can be specified by a selection key in the panel operation unit 19. Note that for one destination, the telephone number and mail address are EEP
If any of them are registered in the ROM 23, inputting them with a numeric keypad or specifying them with a selection key, the other can be automatically recognized by the CPU 30.

FIG. 2 shows a scanner 11 and a printer 1 of the Internet facsimile apparatus 10 shown in FIG.
2, information compression / decompression unit 13, network control unit 14,
Modem and line control unit 15, mail transmission / reception unit 16, communication control unit 17, panel operation unit 19, RAM 22, and EEP
FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a ROM 23 together with a communication network of the Internet facsimile apparatus 10 in consideration of a signal flow between respective units.

As shown in FIG. 2, the network control unit 1
4 is connected to a LAN 40 connected to the Internet 50 and further transmitted to a destination PC (personal computer) 90 or a destination facsimile 70 capable of receiving Internet via a public line 60 via a provider 80 having the Internet 50 and a mail server. It is connected.

The above-described Internet facsimile apparatus 1
The process of facsimile transmission of image information to the destination by using 0 will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In this embodiment, it is assumed that facsimile transmission is performed to the destination facsimile apparatus 70 or the destination PC 90 shown in FIG.

In this processing, in a state where the original is set to be capable of facsimile transmission, either one or both of the telephone number of the facsimile apparatus 70 to be transmitted and the mail address of the transmission destination PC are input using a numeric keypad or the like. (S1: NO, S)
Means “step”. If this is input or specified (S1: YES), the process waits until the start key is pressed (S3: NO). If the start key is pressed (S3: YES), the scanner 11 reads the image of the set document (S3).
5) The information compression / decompression unit 14 compresses the image information obtained in S5 (S7). Next, the compressed information is stored in RAM
22 (S9), and it is determined whether or not the storage of all pages of the document in the RAM 22 is completed (S11). If the storage of all pages of the document in the RAM 22 is not completed (S11: N
O) The above S5 to S5 until the storage in the RAM 22 is completed.
Step 11 is repeated. When the storage in the RAM 22 is completed (S11: YES), it is determined whether or not the image information should be transmitted via the Internet 50 (S1).
3). That is, if the mail address of the transmission destination is input or specified in S1, or if both the mail address of the transmission destination and the telephone number are input or specified, it is determined to transmit first via the Internet 50 ( S1
On the other hand, if only the telephone number of the transmission destination is input or specified in S1, it is determined that transmission is to be performed via the public line 60 (S13: NO).

If it is determined that the transmission is to be performed via the public line 60 (S13: NO), the processing jumps to the processing of S37 and thereafter, which will be described later. If it is determined that the transmission is to be performed via the Internet 50 (S13: YES), the mail transmitting / receiving unit 16 adds information such as a destination to the image information as a mail, and processes the information ( (Hereinafter referred to as transmission information) for transmission to the destination PC 90 via the Internet 50.
The transmission information is transmitted via the network control unit 14 and the LAN 40 (S15).

Thereafter, the process waits until the delivery result notification arrives (S17: NO). Until a predetermined time (this time may be arbitrarily settable by the user) elapses, the standby is continued (S19: NO), and if the delivery result notification is received within the predetermined time (S17: YES) ), Referring to the delivery result, to determine whether the delivery is completed or not (S2).
1) If it is determined that the delivery is completed (S21: YES),
In the communication management area in the RAM 22, along with the destination, time, etc.
Posted and remembered as "Completed delivery on the Internet" (S2
3) Thereafter, the transmission information is deleted from the RAM 22 (S2).
5), end this processing. The items stored in the communication management area of the RAM 22 are printed by the printer 12 immediately if necessary. In addition, all items already stored in the communication management area are printed in a predetermined case (for example, when the storage amount reaches a specific amount).

If it is determined in S21 that the transmission information has not been transmitted (S21: NO), it is determined whether retransmission has already been performed three times (S27), and if the retransmission has not been performed three times. (S27: NO), the transmission information is retransmitted to the same destination (S29), and thereafter, the processing from S17 onward is repeated.

The transmission information is non-delivery (S21: N
O) If it is determined in S27 that the three retransmissions have been completed (S27: YES), the first error sound is emitted from the speaker 18 (S31), and the transmission via the Internet 50 has failed. To the user, and the fact is stored in the communication management area of the RAM 22 together with the destination and time (S33).

Next, it is determined whether or not it is possible to automatically try transmission only through the public line 60 (S35).
That is, when both the mail address and the telephone number are input or specified in S1, or when both the mail address and the telephone number are already registered in the predetermined area of the EEPROM 23 and the mail address input or specified in S1 is used. ,
If the CPU 30 can automatically recognize the telephone number,
It is determined that it is possible to automatically try transmission using only the public line 60 (S35: YES). If this is not possible (S35: NO), that is, only the mail address of the destination is entered or specified in S1, and the telephone number is not registered in advance corresponding to the mail address. If the telephone number is not automatically known from the address (S35: NO), a second error sound is sounded to that effect (S36), and the process ends.

If a transmission attempt on the public line 60 is automatically possible (S35: YES), transmission processing only on the public line 60, that is, facsimile transmission without the Internet 50 is attempted (S37). When the transmission over the public line 60 is completed (S39: YES), the fact, destination, time, etc. are stored in the communication management area of the RAM 22 (S41), and the image information is deleted from the RAM 22 (S4).
3), end this processing.

If the transmission on the public line 60 has failed (S39: NO), a third error sound is sounded to notify the user (S45), and the fact is sent to the communication management area of the RAM 22 and the destination is notified. , Time and the like are stored (S47), and this processing ends.

According to the above embodiment, while facsimile transmission to the destination via the Internet is not successful, information to be transmitted is stored and held in the RAM 22, so that retransmission to the same destination is performed. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a troublesome and troublesome operation of reading the image again by the scanner.

Also, in this embodiment, if facsimile transmission to the destination via the Internet is not successful, the transmission is automatically repeated, and if facsimile transmission via the Internet is still unsuccessful, Since the same information can be automatically transmitted to the same destination via the public line 60, the transmission is almost successful even if the user does not perform the retransmission operation again. Thus, for some users, the device 10 is extremely convenient.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can take various forms. For example, in the above embodiment, the delivery result is obtained by electronic mail. For example, when the delivery result is posted on a specific web server on the Internet 50, the delivery result is used to browse the delivery result. Even if the user does not perform any special operation on the device 10, the device 10 itself (specifically, the program of the device 10) automatically uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to automatically execute the operation. The transmission result may be obtained, and if the result is not “successful transmission”, retransmission may be automatically performed by Internet transmission or public line transmission.

In the above embodiment, the Internet 50 is connected via the network controller 14 and the LAN 40.
However, a connection may be made to the Internet 50 through a modem on the public line 60 and a provider on the transmitting side via the line control unit 15.

[0029]

As described above in detail, according to the Internet facsimile apparatus of the first aspect,
At least, the image information is held in the storage unit until a delivery result indicating that the image information has been transmitted to the transmission destination is obtained. Therefore, such a transmission result is not obtained, and the same image information is transmitted to the same transmission destination. in the case of retransmission, via a public line
And can be implemented. In such a case, it is not necessary to perform a troublesome operation of reading the image again by the scanner.

According to the Internet facsimile apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, when a delivery result indicating that the transmission via the Internet has already been completed is not obtained, the same image information is transmitted to the same destination. Retransmission is automatically repeated over the Internet.

According to the Internet facsimile apparatus of the third aspect, the image information is transmitted to the transmission destination.
Receiving the delivery result indicating that the
Image information stored in the storage means
Free memory space can be secured .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an Internet facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a part of the Internet facsimile apparatus together with a communication network to the Internet facsimile apparatus in consideration of a signal flow between respective units.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a part of a process of transmitting image information to a destination by the Internet facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a part of a process of transmitting image information to a destination by the Internet facsimile apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Internet facsimile apparatus 11 Scanner 12 Printer 14 Network control unit 15 Modem and line control unit 16 Mail transmission / reception unit 17 Communication control unit 30 CPU 50 Internet 60 Public line 70 Destination facsimile 80 Provider 90 Communication destination PC

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/00 107 H04M 11/00 103 H04N 1/21 H04N 1/32

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A reading unit that reads an image to obtain image information; a storage unit that stores the image information read by the reading unit; an Internet transmitting / receiving unit that enables the image information to be transmitted / received via the Internet. , The image information can be transmitted and received via a public line.
Public line transmission / reception means, transmission instruction means for issuing an Internet transmission instruction for causing the Internet transmission / reception means to transmit the image information, and when the image information is transmitted based on the Internet transmission instruction, the image information is transmitted to a destination. A delivery result receiving means for receiving, via the internet transmitting / receiving means, a delivery result indicating whether or not the image has been transmitted; and, after transmitting the image information stored in the storage means by the internet transmitting / receiving means, at least receiving the delivery result. by means until receiving a delivery result indicating that the image information is sent to the destination, and the hold control means that holds the image information in the storage means, the transmission based on the Internet transmission command that no already delivered
Receive the result, and the delivery result is not sent to the destination
If the delivery result indicates that
Receive the transmission result of Internet transmission command within a predetermined time
If not, the image information is sent to the public line transmitting / receiving means.
Public line transmission that issues a public line transmission command to send information
An Internet facsimile machine having command means . 2. Receiving a delivery result of transmission based on an Internet transmission command already made, and when the delivery result is a delivery result indicating that the transmission was not sent to a destination, or 2. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a repetitive transmission command unit for issuing an Internet transmission command for causing the Internet transmission / reception unit to transmit the image information again when the transmission result is not received within a predetermined time. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said delivery result is received by said delivery result receiving means.
Delivery result indicating that the delivered delivery result was sent to the destination
In the case of, the holding control means reads from the storage means
Erasing the stored image information.
Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 that.