JP3697607B2 - Internet facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an Internet facsimile apparatus that can communicate with a facsimile apparatus of a transmission source through a telephone line such as a public line or a dedicated line, and can communicate via the Internet.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, Internet facsimile apparatuses that can transmit and receive images by facsimile communication using a telephone line and the like and that can transmit and receive images using the Internet have been developed. By using such an Internet facsimile machine as a gateway, image communication can be performed using the Internet as a part of the communication path.
[0003]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a system that performs facsimile communication using the Internet. In the figure, 11 and 17 are facsimile machines, 12 and 16 are telephone lines, 13 and 15 are Internet facsimile machines, and 14 is the Internet. For example, consider a case where image data is transmitted from the facsimile apparatus 11 to the facsimile apparatus 17 via the Internet 14. In this case, the transmission source facsimile apparatus 11 is connected to the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 via the telephone line 12, and the telephone number of the facsimile apparatus 17 that is the reception destination and the Internet facsimile apparatus that is the communication path to the facsimile apparatus 17 on the Internet. Address (IP address, mail address, domain name, etc.) is designated and image data is transmitted.
[0004]
The Internet facsimile machine 13 attaches the telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 to be received to the image data received from the facsimile machine 11 as the transmission source, and transmits it to the Internet facsimile machine 15 through the Internet 14 as an electronic mail. The Internet facsimile machine 15 receives an e-mail containing image data, communicates with the facsimile machine 17 via the telephone line 16 using the telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 to which the image data is added, and receives the image data. Is sent by facsimile. In this way, image data can be transmitted from the transmission source facsimile apparatus 11 to the reception destination facsimile apparatus 17.
[0005]
In this way, by using the Internet 14 in the middle of the communication path, charging due to the use of a telephone line is charged from the source facsimile machine 11 to the Internet facsimile machine 13 and from the Internet facsimile machine 15 to the destination facsimile machine 17. If the distance is close, the call charge will be cheap. Further, since the use of the Internet 14 is a fixed charge regardless of the distance, the communication charge can be saved by using the Internet 14 when the transmission source facsimile apparatus 11 and the reception destination facsimile apparatus 17 are separated. You may be able to.
[0006]
Here, transmission of image data from the Internet facsimile machine 15 to the receiving facsimile machine 17 may be performed by normal facsimile communication. However, when image data is transmitted from the transmission source facsimile apparatus 11 to the Internet facsimile apparatus 13, it is necessary to instruct the telephone number of the reception destination facsimile apparatus 17 and the address of the Internet facsimile apparatus 15. Conventionally, as a method of transmitting such information, a method of transmitting as data in binary file transfer mode has been considered.
[0007]
When data is transferred in the binary file transfer mode, data transfer is performed at the transmission speed determined by the training sequence as in the case of image data transmission. Therefore, normally, data can be transferred at a higher speed than the transmission speed when communicating the procedure signal.
[0008]
However, an error correction function by ECM is essential in the binary file transfer mode. Accordingly, there is a problem that facsimile transmission using the Internet cannot be performed by a facsimile apparatus that does not have an ECM function.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an Internet facsimile machine that can transmit using the Internet even from an external facsimile machine that does not have an error correction function by ECM. It is what.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention relates to a FAX communication means capable of performing facsimile communication using a telephone line, an Internet communication means capable of communicating using the Internet, and a code received in the image data transmission phase by the FAX communication means in an Internet facsimile apparatus. Control means for transferring received image data to the Internet communication means based on a destination specified by data and a relay route, and the destination and relay instead of image data for one page in the image data transmission phase. Information on a route is received by code data. Thus, in the transmission phase of image data, the receiving destination and the relay path are received by code data instead of image data for one page, so that it is possible to receive these information as fast as image data, A facsimile machine that does not have an error correction function by ECM can also transmit using the Internet.
[0011]
Note that the information on the receiving destination and relay route received as code data in the image data transmission phase is not limited to one, and a plurality of receiving destinations and one or more relay routes may be acquired. In this case, one or more recipients may be designated for each acquired relay route, and the received image data may be transferred from the Internet communication means. This makes it possible to perform broadcast communication in which the same image data is transmitted to a plurality of recipients.
[0012]
In addition, when the control means holds a relay route close to the destination facsimile machine, the held relay route is the destination more than the relay route corresponding to the destination received in the image data transmission phase. If it is close to the image data, the received image data can be transferred based on the held relay route. As a result, the communication cost from the transfer destination Internet facsimile apparatus to the reception destination facsimile apparatus can be reduced.
[0013]
Further, when image data is transferred using the Internet as described above, it is possible to perform authentication of a transmission source using information received during a facsimile communication procedure. Thereby, for example, the use from a third party who is not registered can be restricted.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a system including an embodiment of an Internet facsimile machine according to the present invention. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. 21 is a FAX communication unit, 22 is a control unit, and 23 is an Internet communication unit. The Internet facsimile machines 13 and 15 can perform facsimile communication using the telephone lines 12 and 16 and can perform communication using the Internet 14. At least the Internet facsimile machine 13 is the Internet facsimile machine of the present invention. Of course, the Internet facsimile machine 15 may also be the Internet facsimile machine of the present invention. The facsimile apparatuses 11 and 17 are facsimile apparatuses that can perform facsimile communication using the telephone lines 12 and 16.
[0015]
The Internet facsimile machine 13 includes a FAX communication unit 21, a control unit 22, and an Internet communication unit 23. The FAX communication unit 21 can communicate with another facsimile apparatus, for example, the facsimile apparatus 11 using the telephone line 12. The Internet communication unit 23 can communicate with other Internet devices using the Internet 14, and can perform e-mail data transfer to the Internet facsimile machine 15, for example.
[0016]
Further, the control unit 22 of the Internet facsimile machine 13 controls the entire apparatus, and performs facsimile communication via the FAX communication unit 21 and transmission / reception of electronic mail via the Internet communication unit 23. Further, using both functions, image data received by facsimile communication can be transferred to another Internet facsimile apparatus by e-mail or the like. Further, it may have a function of transferring image data in an electronic mail transferred from another Internet facsimile apparatus to the facsimile apparatus by facsimile communication.
[0017]
In this way, the image data received by facsimile communication is transferred to another Internet facsimile apparatus by e-mail or the like, and the other Internet facsimile apparatus transmits the image data by facsimile to another facsimile apparatus, so that the Internet 14 can be realized. For example, image data received by facsimile from the facsimile apparatus 11 is transferred to the Internet facsimile apparatus 15, and image data is transmitted from the Internet facsimile apparatus 15 to the facsimile apparatus 17 by facsimile transmission, thereby transferring the image data from the facsimile apparatus 11 to the facsimile apparatus 17. Can be realized.
[0018]
At this time, the Internet facsimile machine 13 needs to acquire information relating to the receiving destination such as the telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 serving as the receiving destination from the sending facsimile apparatus 11 and information relating to the relay route to the receiving destination. . For this purpose, in the present invention, the control unit 22 acquires information on the receiving destination and the relay route from the code data in the image data transmission phase (phase C) via the FAX communication unit 21. For example, instead of the image data of an arbitrary page such as the first page or the last page of the image data, information regarding the receiving destination and the relay route can be received as code data. As described above, by acquiring the information regarding the receiving destination and the relay route from the code data in the transmission phase of the image data, it can be received at a high transfer rate similar to that of the image data. Further, unlike the binary file transfer mode, communication for switching the mode when sending image data is unnecessary, and the communication time can be further reduced. Further, even if the transmission source facsimile apparatus 11 does not have an ECM function, it is possible to send information about the reception destination and the relay route to the Internet facsimile apparatus 13. Note that the information regarding the receiving destination and the relay route to be received is not limited to one by one. For example, a plurality of receiving destinations may be acquired through the same relay route, or a plurality of receiving destinations and a plurality of relay routes may be acquired. This makes it possible to realize broadcast communication using the Internet.
[0019]
Then, the received image data is transferred from the Internet communication unit 23 to another Internet facsimile machine through the Internet 14 based on the acquired information on the destination and the relay route. For example, an Internet facsimile apparatus to which image data is to be transferred is specified from the acquired information on the relay route, and the image data is transmitted as an e-mail to the specified Internet facsimile apparatus with information regarding the receiving destination. When a plurality of relay routes are acquired, image data is transmitted as an e-mail to each relay route. In addition, when a plurality of recipients are specified for one relay route, the image data may be transferred as an e-mail to the Internet facsimile machine on the relay route with information on the recipients. . This reduces the number of e-mails transferred and reduces the amount of Internet traffic.
[0020]
Furthermore, the Internet facsimile machine 13 can hold a specific reception destination and an Internet facsimile machine that is the closest relay route to the reception destination in association with each other. If the control unit 22 holds information about a relay route closer to the destination than the relay route corresponding to the received destination, the control unit 22 uses the information about the relay route closer to the held destination. The received image data can be transferred by e-mail or the like. As a result, the communication cost in the destination Internet facsimile machine can be reduced. Of course, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which priority is given to the received relay route information, or the designated relay route is always used when information prohibiting the change of the relay route is received.
[0021]
It should be noted that when the transfer function to the Internet is used without limitation by receiving a facsimile from a third party's facsimile apparatus, the sender's facsimile apparatus may be authenticated. For example, a user ID or the like can be received and authenticated by a non-standard (NSS) frame or a SUB frame.
[0022]
Next, an example of the operation in the embodiment of the Internet facsimile machine of the present invention will be described. Here, as an example, it is assumed that the facsimile apparatus 11 sends image data to the facsimile apparatus 17 using the Internet facsimile apparatus 15 as a relay path to the Internet facsimile apparatus 13. FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an outline of a communication procedure between the facsimile machine 11 and the Internet facsimile machine 13. When the facsimile apparatus 11 transmits image data to the facsimile apparatus 17 using the Internet 14, the facsimile apparatus 11 first makes a call to the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 using the telephone line 12. In (1), the facsimile apparatus 11 transmits the Internet. CNG is sent to the facsimile machine 13.
[0023]
When the Internet facsimile machine 13 receives an incoming call from the facsimile machine 11 and detects CNG, it returns CED in (2). At the same time, in (3), information indicating the Internet facsimile machine 13 is transmitted as CSI, and information regarding the reception capability of the Internet facsimile machine 13 is transmitted to the facsimile machine 11 by DIS or NSF. At this time, the NSF that declares non-standard capabilities has a relay function using the Internet 14, and has the capability of receiving information on the receiving destination and the relay route as code data in the image data transmission phase. Declare that you are doing. At this time, it is also possible to declare various related abilities such as specifying the maximum number of broadcast destinations. Of course, if these capabilities can be declared by other signals, such as DIS, the capabilities may be declared by these signals. In that case, transmission of the NSF is optional.
[0024]
When the facsimile apparatus 11 receives information about reception capability from the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 by DIS, NSS, or the like, for example, the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 has a relay function using the Internet 14 from the NSS by referring to the received information. And knowing that it has the ability to receive information on the receiving destination and the relay route with code data in the image data transmission phase. Then, the parameters at the time of transmission are determined within the range of the reception capability of the Internet facsimile machine 13, and the DCS is transmitted in (4). In addition, the transmission source information is transmitted to the Internet facsimile machine 13 as TSI. Further, an NSS for setting a non-standard function is transmitted to the Internet facsimile machine 13 to request transfer of image data via the Internet 14, and information on the receiving destination and relay route is transmitted with code data in the image data transmission phase. Declare to send Also in this case, if these declarations can be made in signals other than NSS, for example, DCS, the declarations may be made by those signals. In that case, transmission of NSS is optional.
[0025]
When the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 receives DCS, TSI, and NSS from the facsimile apparatus 11 and the facsimile apparatus 11 requests transfer of image data using the Internet 14, the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 authenticates the facsimile apparatus 11. be able to. Authentication can be performed, for example, by receiving a user ID or the like through an NSS frame. Alternatively, information required for authentication such as information in TSI or SUB, such as a user ID, may be received, and password verification may be performed using PWD. Of course, other methods may be used, and information for authentication may be transmitted when a receiving destination and a relay route are designated in phase C in which image data transmission described later is performed. By performing authentication, it is possible to prevent unlimited use of facsimile communication using the Internet 14 by a third party.
[0026]
When the function setting between the facsimile apparatus 11 and the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 is completed in this way, the modem is trained by the TCF in (5) to determine the communication speed. When the training is completed, the Internet facsimile machine 13 sends a CFR to the facsimile machine 11 in (6) to inform that the reception preparation is completed.
[0027]
Then, the facsimile apparatus 11 enters a phase C in which image data is transmitted to the Internet facsimile apparatus 13. Here, on the first page of the image data, information on the receiving destination and the relay route is transferred as code data, and these pieces of information are transmitted in (7). In this example, an Internet address (such as a domain name or a mail address) of the Internet facsimile machine 15 and a telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 are designated so that image data is transferred to the facsimile machine 17 using the Internet facsimile machine 15 as a relay route. To do.
[0028]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of code data that designates a receiving destination and a relay route to be transferred in phase C. In the present invention, since the information of the receiving destination and the relay route is transmitted in the same manner as the image data in the phase C, the format is the transmitting side and the receiving side for direct communication, in this example, the facsimile apparatus 11 and the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 Arbitrary arrangements can be made between the two.
[0029]
The example shown in FIG. 3A shows an example in which code data indicating a character string “FAX=0774001234@ifax.com” is transferred. Among these, “077741234” is the telephone number portion of the facsimile machine 17 that is the final recipient, and “ifax.com” indicates the domain name of the Internet facsimile machine 15. In the example shown in FIG. 3A, the Internet facsimile machine 15 is an example in which an electronic mail can be received as a mail server.
[0030]
When the Internet facsimile machine 15 is a client-type machine, for example, as shown in FIG. 3B, the telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 that is the final receiving destination and the electronic mail address of the Internet facsimile machine 15 are set to a predetermined value. What is necessary is just to write together with the delimiter code (in this example, ';' is optional).
[0031]
In the example shown in FIG. 3C, an example is shown in which there are a plurality of facsimile apparatuses that are final receiving destinations. In this example, according to the format shown in FIG. 3A, a set of the telephone number of each facsimile apparatus as the final receiving destination and the Internet facsimile apparatus as the corresponding relay path is set as a predetermined delimiter code (NULL in this example). It is a code, but it is optional. Here, a NULL code (NULL is shown with an underline) is used as a delimiter code. Of course, the delimiter code is arbitrary. In addition, the end of data is shown by overlapping two NULL codes. Of course, the code indicating the end is also arbitrary. In the example shown in FIG. 3C, the first delimited by NULL is the Internet facsimile apparatus as the final recipient, and the second is the domain “ifax-cde.com” as the relay route and the telephone number “077401234. "" Is the final recipient. The third specifies the same relay route as the second, and specifies “+81752109876” and the subaddress “12345” as the telephone number of the final recipient. The subaddress is delimited by “/”, and “T33S =” indicates a subaddress.
[0032]
In the example shown in FIG. 3D, an example is shown in which an Internet facsimile machine serving as one relay path is requested to transmit to a plurality of facsimile machines. In this example, telephone numbers of a plurality of facsimile machines are shown. Are surrounded by '[' and ']'. The symbol code used in this case is also arbitrary.
[0033]
Various specifications can be made by appropriately combining these formats. Of course, it is possible to designate the Internet facsimile machine itself. As shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D, when a large number of facsimile apparatuses and relay routes as final reception destinations are designated, the entire data length also becomes long. However, since it is transmitted in the same manner as the image data, it can be transmitted without worrying about the data length.
[0034]
Also, information regarding the receiving destination and the relay route cannot be transmitted accurately if an error occurs. In order to avoid this, it is desirable to use, for example, an ECM function. However, even if the ECM function is not provided, a negative response may be made by, for example, an RTN signal, and the page may be retransmitted. Thus, even a facsimile apparatus having no ECM function can transmit using the Internet. it can. Even if a certain amount of error exists in the image data, there is often little disturbance in the image, and the image data may be received with the error included. Alternatively, the page in which an error has occurred may be skipped to proceed to the next page transmission. However, for a page that receives information about the destination and relay route as code data, if there is an error or the page is lost, it cannot be correctly transferred to the destination. If a communication error cannot be avoided even if the above procedure is performed or one or several retransmissions are performed, it is desirable to terminate communication as a communication error.
[0035]
Further, information for authentication with respect to the facsimile apparatus 11 described above, for example, information such as a user ID and a password may be received in the phase C together with information regarding the receiving destination and the relay route.
[0036]
Returning to FIG. 2, after transmitting information about the receiving destination and the relay route as code data instead of the image data, the facsimile apparatus 11 continues to send MPS to the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 in (8), and the image data of the next page. Inform that there is. When the Internet facsimile machine 13 receives the information about the receiving destination and the relay route and the MPS, it returns an MCF in (9) to inform the facsimile machine 11 that these pieces of information have been received reliably.
[0037]
In (10), the facsimile machine 11 transmits image data to the Internet facsimile machine 13. If there are multiple pages of image data, the MPS is transmitted, the image data of the next page is transmitted, and the EOP is transmitted after the image data of the last page is transmitted. In this example, EOP is transmitted in (11) after image data transmission in (10). The Internet facsimile machine 13 returns MCF in (12) as a response to EOP. After receiving the MCF, the facsimile apparatus 11 sends DCN in (13) to end the communication and disconnects the line. The Internet facsimile machine 13 also receives the DCN and disconnects the line.
[0038]
In this manner, the facsimile apparatus 11 instructs the Internet facsimile apparatus 13 to send image data after instructing that the facsimile apparatus 17 is the final receiving destination and that the Internet facsimile apparatus 15 is used as a relay route. Can be sent. In addition, the Internet facsimile machine 13 receives and transfers information regarding the relay route and the reception destination transmitted in the same manner as the image data in the phase C in which the image data is transmitted by communication with the facsimile machine 11 as described above. The image data to be received can be continuously received.
[0039]
In the above-described example, an example is shown in which information relating to the reception destination and the relay route is transferred as code data instead of the image data of the first page of phase C. 11 and the Internet facsimile machine 13 on the receiving side can be used as the last page or an arbitrary page. Alternatively, information regarding the page number to be sent may be exchanged at the phase B function setting stage.
[0040]
The Internet facsimile machine 13 designates the telephone number of the facsimile machine 17 that is the final receiving destination for the Internet facsimile machine 15 that is the relay route acquired as described above, and the received image data is sent as an e-mail. Forward. For example, when the acquired relay route and destination information is as shown in FIG. 3A, an e-mail including the received image data is sent using the designated “077741234@ifax.com” as an e-mail address. Just send it. As a result, the e-mail reaches the Internet facsimile machine 15 having the domain name “ifax.com”.
[0041]
If an Internet facsimile machine serving as a plurality of relay routes is designated from the facsimile machine 11, an electronic mail is transmitted to each Internet facsimile machine.
[0042]
Further, when the Internet facsimile machine 13 holds information on the Internet facsimile machine closest to the facsimile machine 11 that is the receiving destination, the information is compared with the Internet facsimile machine 15 that is a relay route received from the facsimile machine 11. If the held Internet facsimile machine is closer to the facsimile machine 17, the Internet facsimile machine is used as a relay route to transfer the image data. Of course, priority may be given to the relay route acquired from the facsimile apparatus 11, and it may be configured to allow the facsimile apparatus 11 to designate which is prioritized.
[0043]
The Internet facsimile machine 15 extracts the user name portion of the received e-mail, dials the telephone line 16 to make a call, and connects the facsimile machine 17 and the line. Then, the image data in the e-mail received according to the facsimile procedure is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus 17 by facsimile. In this way, the image data transmitted from the facsimile apparatus 11 reaches the facsimile apparatus 17 via the Internet 14.
[0044]
When the Internet facsimile machine 15 is a client-type machine, an electronic mail is taken out from a mail server provided separately or an electronic mail addressed to the Internet facsimile machine 15 is received. Then, the telephone number of the recipient included in the received e-mail is taken out, dialed to the telephone line 16 to make a call, and the image data is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus 17 by facsimile.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the relay route and destination information necessary for transferring image data received via a telephone line or the like via the Internet are transferred to the image data. Since it is received as code data in the phase, it can be received at high speed as with image data. In addition, there is an effect that even an external facsimile apparatus that does not have an error correction function by ECM can transmit image data using the Internet.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a system including an embodiment of an Internet facsimile machine according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an outline of a communication procedure between the facsimile apparatus 11 and the Internet facsimile apparatus 13;
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of code data specifying a receiving destination and a relay route to be transferred in phase C;
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a system that performs facsimile communication using the Internet.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11,17 ... Fax machine, 12, 16 ... Telephone line, 13, 15 ... Internet facsimile machine, 14 ... Internet, 21 ... FAX communication part, 22 ... Control part, 23 ... Internet communication part.

Claims (4)

  FAX communication means capable of facsimile communication using a telephone line, Internet communication means capable of communication using the Internet, and a destination and relay path designated by code data received in the image data transmission phase by the FAX communication means Control means for transferring the received image data to the Internet communication means based on the information, and receiving the information about the receiving destination and the relay route by code data instead of the image data for one page in the transmission phase of the image data An Internet facsimile machine characterized by:   The control means acquires a plurality of receiving destinations and one or more relay paths received as code data in the image data transmission phase by the FAX communication means, and one or more receptions for each acquired relay path. 2. The internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein image data received by designating a destination is transferred to the internet communication means.   The control means retains the relay path closer to the receiving destination than the relay path corresponding to the receiving destination specified by the code data received in the image data transmission phase by the FAX communication means. 3. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the received image data is transferred to the Internet communication means based on a relay route close to the receiving destination.   4. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit authenticates a transmission source using information received during the facsimile communication procedure by the FAX communication unit. .

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