JP4262589B2 - Facsimile apparatus, communication system, transmission method, and transmission program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus , a communication system, a transmission method, and a transmission program , and more particularly to a facsimile apparatus , a communication system, a transmission method, and a transmission program capable of transmitting mail via the Internet.

In recent years, facsimile apparatuses capable of sending and receiving e-mails using SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) and POP (Post Office Protocol) have appeared. However, it is extremely difficult for a plurality of users to use this facsimile apparatus. This is because the above-described facsimile apparatus is normally assumed to be used by a single user, so that only one SMTP server / POP server can be registered. Moreover, even if a large number of SMTP / POP servers can be set, each user must select a server to be used. For this reason, in general, many users who send and receive e-mails using the above-described facsimile apparatus have little knowledge of the e-mail sending and receiving mechanism, setting items necessary for sending and receiving, etc. It cannot be used to send and receive e-mails. Therefore, as a technical document filed prior to the present invention, a facsimile apparatus that enables a plurality of users to send and receive e-mails by switching a server used for sending and receiving e-mails for each user to be used. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-67315 A

  In recent years, since LANs have become widespread, in environments connected by LANs (such as within a company), high-speed Internet fax communication is used instead of conventional facsimile communication. It is popular. However, since a conventional facsimile function is required for a communication device that cannot be connected via a LAN, the conventional facsimile function is installed in the facsimile apparatus even though the amount of conventional facsimile communication is reduced. It is necessary, and since both the Internet facsimile function and the conventional facsimile function are installed, the facsimile apparatus itself becomes expensive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile apparatus , a communication system, a transmission method, and a transmission program equipped with a convenient and inexpensive Internet facsimile function.

  In order to achieve this object, the present invention has the following features.

A facsimile apparatus according to the present invention is a facsimile apparatus equipped with an Internet facsimile function, wherein a selection means for selecting facsimile communication or Internet facsimile communication as a destination type, and an image obtained by selecting facsimile communication as a destination type by the selection means. it is indicated for transmitting data, and, if the phone number that is the transmission destination of the facsimile communication is input, the telephone number that is the input, converts the e-mail address that facsimile gateway can recognize, and the conversion the e-mail to the e-mail address and the transmission destination, the facsimile gateway attaches the image data to be transmitted, or a first transmission means for transmitting to the mail server, Internet facsimile communication as a destination category by the selecting means It is instructed to transmit the image data by selecting, and, if the e-mail address of the Internet facsimile as a transmission destination of the Internet facsimile communication is input to the input e-mail address and the destination e And a second transmission unit that transmits the image data to be transmitted to the mail server .

  A communication system according to the present invention includes the facsimile apparatus described above and a facsimile gateway.

The transmission method according to the present invention is a transmission method in a facsimile apparatus equipped with Internet facsimile function, a facsimile communication facsimile communication or Internet facsimile communication and selection step of selecting as the destination type, as a destination category by the selecting step It is instructed to select a transmitting image data, and conversion, if the phone number that is the transmission destination of the facsimile communication is input, the telephone number that is the input, to the e-mail address facsimile gateway can recognize and, destination e-mail to send the destination e-mail addresses the conversion, transmits the facsimile gateway attaches the image data to be transmitted, or a first transmission step of transmitting to the mail server, by said selection step Internet as the type It is indicated that by selecting Akushimiri communication to transmit the image data, and, if the e-mail address of the Internet facsimile as a transmission destination of the Internet facsimile communication is entered, a transmission destination of the input email address And a second transmission step of attaching the image data to be transmitted to the electronic mail to be transmitted to the mail server .

A transmission program according to the present invention is a transmission program to be executed by a computer of a facsimile apparatus having an Internet facsimile function, a selection process for selecting facsimile communication or Internet facsimile communication as a destination type, and a destination by the selection process. When it is instructed to select facsimile communication as the type and transmit image data, and a telephone number that is a transmission destination of facsimile communication is input, an electronic phone that can recognize the input telephone number by the facsimile gateway A first transmission process of converting to a mail address, sending the converted e-mail address to a facsimile gateway with image data to be sent attached to the e-mail, or sending it to a mail server; By selection process When it is instructed to select Internet facsimile communication as the destination type and image data is transmitted, and when an e-mail address of the Internet fax that is the transmission destination of the Internet facsimile communication is input, the input e-mail address the electronic mail to be transmitted destination, the second transmitting process of transmitting by attaching image data to be sent to the mail server, and characterized by causing a computer to execute the facsimile device.

According to the present invention, since facsimile communication is possible without installing a facsimile function, it is possible to provide a user with a facsimile apparatus equipped with an easy-to-use and inexpensive Internet facsimile function.

  First, the features of the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. A facsimile apparatus (1) according to the present invention is connected to a mail server (2) and a facsimile gateway (3) via a LAN (4), and determines whether the destination type is facsimile communication or Internet facsimile communication at the time of transmission destination. When the facsimile communication is selected, the telephone number input when the facsimile communication is selected can be transmitted via the mail server (2), and the facsimile gateway (3) can recognize the mail. The data is converted into an address format, and the converted mail address is transmitted to the mail server (2) as a transmission destination. When the Internet facsimile communication is selected, the Internet fax mail address input when the Internet facsimile communication is selected is transmitted to the mail server (2) as a transmission destination.

A facsimile apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, a system configuration using a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The facsimile apparatus (1) according to the present invention is used in the network environment shown in FIG. 1 and includes a general mail server (2), a facsimile gateway (3), and a facsimile apparatus (1). It is configured to be connected by a LAN (4). The connections between the devices do not need to be in the same subnet, and can be connected via a router (5) as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the facsimile apparatus (1) according to the present invention can construct a network environment in which a plurality of facsimile apparatuses (devices 1 to 4) are connected.

  Next, the internal configuration of the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  The facsimile apparatus according to the present invention includes an operation unit (10), a LAN communication control unit (11), a system control unit (12), and a storage unit (13).

  The operation unit (10) performs settings and transmission operations necessary for operating the facsimile apparatus.

  The LAN communication control unit (11) controls communication with the mail server (2) and the facsimile gateway (3) shown in FIG.

  The system control unit (12) is configured to control the operation unit (10) and make necessary settings during the transmission operation. The system control unit (12) stores the contents set from the operation unit (10) in the storage unit (13). The system control unit (12) stores the image data received from the external communication device in the storage unit (13).

  The storage unit (13) temporarily stores image data received from an external communication device. Further, information necessary for operation of the facsimile apparatus set from the operation unit (10) is stored.

  Next, the processing operation in the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the following processing operations are the ITU-T recommendation T.30 according to the present invention. 37 is a processing operation performed in a facsimile machine having an internet facsimile function according to 37 and not equipped with a facsimile function.

  First, before performing the transmission operation, the address of the mail server (2) shown in FIG. 1 is set in advance by the IP address or the host name from the operation unit (10) and registered in the storage unit (13). There is a need. In addition, it is necessary to previously set items necessary for the transmission operation from the operation unit (10) and register them in the storage unit (13).

  First, a transmission operation is set from the operation unit (10), and the system control unit (12) starts a transmission operation of the facsimile apparatus (step S1). Next, the system control unit (12) displays a selection screen on the operation unit (10) to select the type of transmission destination. When the transmission destination type is selected from the operation unit (10), the system control unit (12) determines whether or not the facsimile is selected as the destination type (step S2).

  When the system control unit (12) determines that the facsimile is selected as the destination type (step S2 / YES), the system control unit (12) displays on the operation unit (10) to input the telephone number of the transmission destination. When the telephone number (for example, 0312345678) of the destination facsimile is input from the operation unit (10) (step S3), the system control unit (12) starts transmission (step S4). The control unit (12) converts the telephone number input from the operation unit (10) into a mail address format that can be transmitted via the mail server (2) and recognized by the facsimile gateway (3). (For example, FAX=012312456678@faxgw.abc) (step S5). In this embodiment, a case where a facsimile gateway equipped with an off-ramp gateway function defined in RFC2304 is used as an example of the facsimile gateway (3) will be described. However, the facsimile gateway (3) is dedicated to the facsimile apparatus (1) according to the present invention. When combined with the facsimile gateway apparatus, it is also possible to convert in a unique communication format.

  Next, the system control unit (12) transmits the mail address via the mail server (2) and is converted into a mail address format that can be recognized by the facsimile gateway (3) (for example, FAX = 00312345678 @ faxgw. abc) is designated as the transmission destination and transmitted to the mail server (2) (step S6).

  In step S2, when the system control unit (12) determines that Internet fax is selected as the destination type (step S2 / NO), the operation unit (12) inputs the mail address of the destination Internet fax. 10) Display above. When a destination mail address (for example, fax1@area1.abc) is input from the operation unit (10) (Step S7), the system control unit (12) starts transmission (Step S7). In S8, the system control unit (12) designates the mail address input from the operation unit (10) as it is as a transmission destination and transmits it to the mail server (2) (step S9).

  As described above, the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention displays on the operation unit (10) so as to select a facsimile or an Internet factory as a transmission destination type when specifying a transmission destination, When a facsimile is selected, a display is made on the operation unit (10) to input the telephone number of the transmission destination. When the telephone number of the facsimile of the transmission destination is input from the operation unit (10), the input is made. The received telephone number can be transmitted via the mail server (2), converted into a mail address format that can be recognized by the facsimile gateway (3), and sent to the mail server (2) to be received from the Internet facsimile. Via a facsimile gateway (3) equipped with a function for forwarding to a facsimile device with a specified telephone number It is possible to transmit information to the facsimile device Shin destination telephone number. For this reason, since the facsimile communication function can be omitted from the facsimile system equipped with the Internet facsimile function, it is possible to provide a cheaper facsimile apparatus. In addition, since a line for facsimile communication can be shared by a plurality of facsimile apparatuses, the maintenance cost of the communication line can be made lower than before. In addition, it is possible to provide the user with the same communication function and usability as a facsimile apparatus equipped with an Internet facsimile communication function and a facsimile communication function. In the processing operation, the destination type selected in step S2 can be described in a communication result report or communication history list.

Next, a second embodiment will be described.
In the first embodiment, when a facsimile is designated as the transmission destination type, communication is performed with the facsimile gateway (3) via the mail server (2). When a facsimile is designated as the destination type, communication is performed directly with the facsimile gateway (3) without going through the mail server (2). Hereinafter, the processing operation in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in the second embodiment, before performing the transmission operation, the address of the mail server (2) and the address of the facsimile gateway (3) are set in advance from the operation unit (10) as the IP address or host name. And is registered in the storage unit (13). Further, other items necessary for the transmission operation are set in advance from the operation unit (10) and registered in the storage unit (13).

  First, a transmission operation is performed from the operation unit (10) to cause the system control unit (12) to start a transmission operation of the facsimile apparatus (step S10). Next, the system control unit (12) displays a selection screen on the operation unit (10) to select the type of transmission destination. When the transmission destination type is selected from the operation unit (10), the system control unit (12) determines whether or not the facsimile is selected as the destination type (step S11).

  When the system control unit (12) determines that the facsimile is selected as the destination type (step S11 / YES), the system control unit (12) displays on the operation unit (10) to input the telephone number of the transmission destination. When the telephone number (for example, 0312345678) of the destination facsimile is input from the operation unit (10) (step S12), the system control unit (12) starts transmission (step S13), and the system The control unit (12) converts the telephone number input from the operation unit (10) into a mail address format that can be recognized by the facsimile gateway (for example, FAX = 0123345678@faxgw.abc) (step S14). ). Next, the system control unit (12) designates the mail address converted in the mail address format that can be recognized by the facsimile gateway as a transmission destination and transmits the mail address to the facsimile gateway (3) (step S15).

  If the system control unit (12) determines that Internet fax is selected as the destination type (step S11 / NO), the system control unit (12) displays the mail address of the destination Internet fax on the operation unit (10). indicate. When an e-mail address (for example, fax1@area1.abc) is input from the operation unit (10) (step S16), the system control unit (12) starts transmission (step). In S17, the system control unit (12) designates the mail address input from the operation unit (10) as it is as a transmission destination and transmits it to the mail server (2) (step S18).

  As described above, in the second embodiment, when the factory destination is specified as the destination type, the mail server setting is performed by performing control so as to directly communicate with the factory gateway without going through the mail server. Since the network side setting is not required, communication processing can be performed only by setting the Internet fax and the facsimile gateway when using the facsimile gateway, and communication between the mail server and the facsimile gateway is required. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the load on the network.

Next, a third embodiment will be described.
Since the conventional Internet fax only knows the result of transmission to the mail server, there is a facsimile machine equipped with a function for knowing the result of mail transmission using MDN or DSN. However, whether or not there is a response depends on the communication device of the transmission destination and the mail server of the delivery route, and compatibility and useless processing occur. Therefore, mail transmission using MDN or DSN is performed. In the present situation, the above-mentioned function that can know the result is not used. Therefore, in the third embodiment, in order to construct a transmission result equivalent to the conventional one in the facsimile communication using the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention, the ON / OFF of the delivery confirmation function is set to the transmission to the Internet fax and the facsimile. It is characterized in that it is constructed so that it is set independently for transmission to. In particular, since the facsimile apparatus of the second embodiment directly communicates with the facsimile gateway apparatus, the transmission result equivalent to that of the conventional facsimile apparatus can be obtained by combining with the facsimile gateway apparatus equipped with a delivery confirmation response function. It becomes possible to be able to. The processing operation of the third embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.

  First, when a transmission operation is performed from the operation unit (10) and the system control unit (12) starts a transmission operation of the facsimile apparatus, the system control unit (12) transmits using the LAN communication control unit (11). This is done (step S20). Next, the system control unit (12) displays a selection screen on the operation unit (10) to select the type of transmission destination. When the type of transmission destination is selected from the operation unit (10), the system control unit (12) determines the type of transmission destination, and determines whether or not the facsimile is selected as the destination type. (Step S21).

  When it is determined that the facsimile is selected as the destination type (step S21 / YES), the system control unit (12) determines ON / OFF of the delivery confirmation function to the facsimile (step S22). In step S22, when the system control unit (12) determines that the delivery confirmation function is ON (step S22 / YES), the system control unit (12) requests delivery confirmation and transmits to the facsimile. This is done (step S23). When the system control unit (12) determines that the delivery confirmation function is OFF (step S22 / NO), the system control unit (12) does not request delivery confirmation and performs transmission to the facsimile. (Step S24).

  In step S21, when the system control unit (12) determines that the transmission is to the Internet fax (step S21 / NO), the system control unit (12) turns ON / OFF the delivery confirmation function to the Internet fax. Is determined (step S25). When the system control unit (12) determines that the delivery confirmation function to the Internet fax is ON (step S25 / YES), the system control unit (12) requests delivery confirmation and transmits to the Internet fax. This is done (step S26). If the system control unit (12) determines that the function for confirming delivery to the Internet fax is OFF (step S25 / NO), the system control unit (12) sends the request to the Internet fax without requesting delivery confirmation. Transmission is performed (step S27).

  As described above, the third embodiment is equipped with a function for requesting delivery confirmation in the facsimile apparatus of the first and second embodiments described above, and ON / OFF of the delivery confirmation request is set as a transmission destination. By controlling so that Internet fax is specified separately from when fax is specified, transmission result reports and communication history lists can also be created without affecting communication between Internet faxes. It is possible to provide a user with the same function as an Internet facsimile machine equipped with a conventional facsimile communication function.

  As the above delivery confirmation function, it is conceivable to use MDN (specified in RFC 2298) or DSN (specified in RFC 1891, 1894), but the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention is a dedicated facsimile gateway apparatus. When combining, it is also possible to use a unique communication method.

  Further, similarly to the conventional Internet fax and facsimile apparatus, it is also possible to perform the following processes (1) to (3) by a response of delivery confirmation. (1) A transmission result report is output in response to the delivery confirmation. (2) The result of the delivery confirmation response is reflected in the transmission result of the communication history and a report is output. (3) When it is determined that the response result is an error in the response of the delivery confirmation, the document that could not be transmitted is kept as it is and is retransmitted.

  The above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Implementation is possible.

  The facsimile apparatus and transmission method according to the present invention can be applied to a facsimile apparatus capable of sending and receiving mail via the Internet.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration | structure which shows the network environment using the facsimile apparatus concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the facsimile apparatus concerning this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation in the facsimile apparatus of 1st Example concerning this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation in the facsimile apparatus of 2nd Example. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation in the facsimile apparatus of the 3rd Example.

Explanation of symbols

1 Facsimile machine 2 Mail server 3 Facsimile gateway 4 LAN
5 router 10 operation unit 11 LAN communication control unit 12 system control unit 13 storage unit

Claims (6)

A facsimile machine equipped with an Internet facsimile function,
Selecting means for selecting facsimile communication or Internet facsimile communication as a destination type;
When the selection means instructs to select facsimile communication as the destination type and transmit the image data, and a telephone number that is a transmission destination of the facsimile communication is input, the input telephone number is A first address that is converted to an e-mail address that can be recognized by the gateway, sent to the facsimile gateway with the image data to be sent attached to an e-mail addressed to the converted e-mail address, or sent to a mail server A transmission means;
When the selection means instructs to transmit image data by selecting Internet facsimile communication as the destination type, and the Internet fax e-mail address that is the transmission destination of Internet facsimile communication is input, the input is made. And a second transmission means for transmitting the image data to be transmitted to an e-mail addressed to an e-mail addressed to the e-mail server. A delivery confirmation means for obtaining a delivery result of the email;
Determining means for determining whether to enable or disable the acquisition of the delivery result of the e-mail by the delivery confirmation means,
The determination means validates acquisition of the delivery result of the e-mail by the delivery confirmation means when the Internet facsimile communication is selected by the selection means and when the facsimile communication is selected by the selection means. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each of the facsimile apparatuses is independently determined.   A communication system comprising the facsimile apparatus according to claim 1 and a facsimile gateway. A transmission method in a facsimile machine equipped with an Internet facsimile function,
A selection step of selecting facsimile communication or Internet facsimile communication as a destination type;
When it is instructed to select the facsimile communication as the destination type and transmit the image data in the selection step, and the telephone number that is the transmission destination of the facsimile communication is input, the input telephone number is A first address that is converted to an e-mail address that can be recognized by the gateway, sent to the facsimile gateway with the image data to be sent attached to an e-mail addressed to the converted e-mail address, or sent to a mail server Sending process;
If it is instructed to select the Internet facsimile communication as the destination type and transmit the image data by the selection step, and the Internet fax e-mail address as the transmission destination of the Internet facsimile communication is input, the input is made. And a second transmission step of attaching the image data to be transmitted to the e-mail addressed to the e-mail address and transmitting it to the mail server. A delivery confirmation step of obtaining a delivery result of the email;
Determining whether to enable or disable the acquisition of the delivery result of the e-mail by the delivery confirmation step, and
The determination step enables the acquisition of the delivery result of the e-mail by the delivery confirmation step when the Internet facsimile communication is selected by the selection step and when the facsimile communication is selected by the selection step. 5. The transmission method according to claim 4, wherein whether to invalidate or not is determined independently. A transmission program to be executed by a computer of a facsimile machine equipped with an Internet facsimile function,
A selection process for selecting facsimile communication or Internet facsimile communication as a destination type;
When it is instructed to select the facsimile communication as the destination type and transmit the image data by the selection process, and the telephone number that is the transmission destination of the facsimile communication is input, the input telephone number is A first address that is converted to an e-mail address that can be recognized by the gateway, sent to the facsimile gateway with the image data to be sent attached to an e-mail addressed to the converted e-mail address, or sent to a mail server Send processing and
If it is instructed to select the Internet facsimile communication as the destination type and transmit the image data by the selection process, and the e-mail address of the Internet fax as the transmission destination of the Internet facsimile communication is input, the input is made. A transmission program for causing a computer of the facsimile apparatus to execute a second transmission process in which image data to be transmitted is attached to an e-mail addressed to the e-mail address and transmitted to a mail server.

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