JP3875566B2 - Communication device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus such as a network facsimile apparatus, a mobile phone, a PC, and a PDA, which has a function of connecting to a network and transmitting and receiving image information via electronic mail.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-42065 relates to a communication apparatus such as a network facsimile apparatus, a mobile phone, a PC, and a PDA, which has a function of connecting to a network and transmitting / receiving image information via e-mail. The following technologies are disclosed in the communication terminal device.
The sender's e-mail address included in the received e-mail is stored, the stored e-mail address is displayed and the user selects it, and the e-mail is sent to the selected e-mail address as the destination. Send. The selected e-mail address is assigned to a speed dial or one-touch key, and an e-mail is transmitted with the e-mail address registered in association with the operated speed dial or one-touch key as a destination. This saves the trouble of inputting an email address and avoids an input error.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the communication terminal device described in the prior art, the source e-mail address included in the received e-mail is stored, the stored e-mail address is displayed and selected by the user, and the user is selected. Send an email with the email address as the destination.
However, in order to display the stored e-mail address, it is difficult to view unless a large display unit is used, and when a large display unit is used, the cost increases. An email address with a large number of characters may not be displayed on the display unit. Also, when you store the e-mail address of the source of the received e-mail and display it to let the user select it, you can switch the screen to display the e-mail address many times, such as when there are many received e-mails, It takes time to find the e-mail address, and it is very inconvenient because it takes time to select a destination.
The present invention solves the above problems, and even if the display unit is small, an e-mail address can be selected without any problem. Even when there are a large number of received mails, it is possible to easily select a desired e-mail address in a short time. An object of the present invention is to provide a simple communication device.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 is a communication apparatus connected to a network and having a function of transmitting and receiving image information via e-mail, and an e-mail address of a destination of e-mail transmitted in the past, and communication history information with the destination A storage means for storing an e-mail address of a sender of an e-mail received in the past, communication history information with the sender, an e-mail address registered in association with an abbreviated dial, and a head by an arbitrary number of characters By specifying the character, the corresponding email address is searched from the stored email address, and all the print addresses are printed out by the plotter, and the email address stored by specifying the first character with an arbitrary number of characters When searching for the corresponding e-mail address from the list and printing out all the e-mail addresses, E-mail address by using the reference number added to each e-mail address searched by specifying the first character with an arbitrary number of characters and the function to print out by adding the reference number in the search condition When sending an e-mail to that destination using the function to send an e-mail to that destination without entering the URL and the reference number added to each searched e-mail address When the electronic mail address corresponding to the reference number is different from the previous transmission time, the system control means has a function of notifying that effect. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the first aspect, by designating the first character by an arbitrary number of characters, the corresponding electronic mail address is searched from the stored electronic mail addresses, and all the printed mails are printed out. At this time, the serial number added to each e-mail address is composed of a designated first character and a serial number.
[0005]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication apparatus connected to a network and having a function of transmitting and receiving image information via an e-mail. An e-mail address of a destination of an e-mail transmitted in the past and communication history information with the destination A storage means for storing an e-mail address of a sender of an e-mail received in the past, communication history information with the sender, an e-mail address registered in association with an abbreviated dial, and a head by an arbitrary number of characters By specifying the character, search the corresponding email address from the stored email addresses, print all on the plotter, email address information of the destination of the email sent in the past, The e-mail address that has not been used for a certain period in the e-mail address information of the sender of the received e-mail. Corresponds to the reference number when an e-mail is sent to the destination using the function for automatically erasing from the storage means and the reference number added to each searched e-mail address. When the electronic mail address is different from the time of the previous transmission, a system control means having a function of notifying that is provided.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network facsimile apparatus as a communication apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, a system control unit 1 is composed of a CPU and the like, and controls each part of the network facsimile apparatus to execute a predetermined operation. The ROM 2 stores a basic program for operating the network facsimile apparatus in advance. The RAM 3 stores various types of information unique to this network facsimile apparatus. Various types of information include email addresses of destinations of emails sent in the past, email addresses of senders of emails received in the past, email addresses registered in association with speed dials, And communication history information.
The clock circuit 4 transmits the current time information to the system control unit 1. The scanner 5 reads a document image and outputs image information. The plotter 6 prints out image information received by facsimile and various information stored in the RAM 3 on a recording sheet. The operation display unit 7 includes various operation keys, a display, and the like, and is used by the operator to perform various operations and for the operator to check the operation state of the network facsimile apparatus. Among the various operation keys, the mail address search key used when searching for an e-mail address by the first character and the reference number selection for sending mail using the reference number corresponding to the searched e-mail address There are also keys.
The encoding / decoding unit 8 encodes and compresses the image signal and decodes the image information encoded and compressed into the original image signal. The modem 9 modulates / demodulates and transmits / receives image information and transmits / receives various control signals in the transmission control procedure. The network control unit 10 is for connecting the network facsimile apparatus to the analog public network PSTN and has an automatic outgoing / incoming function. The LAN I / F 11 is for connecting the network facsimile apparatus to a local area network LAN.
The LAN transmission control unit 12 is for executing communication control processing of various predetermined protocols for exchanging various data with other data terminal devices via the local area network LAN. Reference numeral 13 denotes an internal bus, and data exchange between the blocks 1 to 10 and 12 is mainly performed via the internal bus 13.
[0007]
Next, the operation of this network facsimile apparatus will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when the network facsimile apparatus searches for a corresponding electronic mail address and prints it out by designating the first character.
When the network facsimile apparatus transmits an e-mail, the e-mail address of the destination and communication history information are stored in the RAM 3. When an e-mail is received, the e-mail address of the sender and communication history information are stored in the RAM 3. The e-mail address registered in association with the speed dial by the operator is stored in the RAM 3.
When the operator wants to send a mail using the network facsimile apparatus, the manuscript is set on the scanner 5 and the destination e-mail address is input from the operation display unit 7, and then the start key is pressed to perform the sending. Here, when it is troublesome to input an e-mail address one by one when performing e-mail transmission to a destination having a communication history in the past, the e-mail address search key on the operation display unit 7 is pressed ( Y at S1), input the first character of the destination e-mail address (Y at S2), and press the mail address search key again (Y at S3).
The first character of the e-mail address may be any number as long as it is one or more characters. For example, if “ab” is input as the first character, the plotter 6 prints out the e-mail address search list shown in FIG. 2 (Y in S4 and S5, S6). In the e-mail address search list, all e-mail addresses starting with the specified first character “ab”, the last communication history information with the other party, the reference number in the search list, and the abbreviated registration An abbreviated dial number is added to and printed. The reference number consists of the first character entered and the serial number.
If there is no e-mail address corresponding to the input first character (N in S5), it is displayed that there is no corresponding e-mail address on the operation display unit 7 (S7). The corresponding e-mail address printed in the search list is searched from all e-mail addresses stored in the RAM 3, or is searched from the e-mail address of the destination of the e-mail sent in the past, or the e-mail received in the past The operator can select from the operation display section 7 whether to search from the email address of the mail originator or from the email address registered in association with the speed dial.
If the e-mail address of the destination of the e-mail sent in the past and the e-mail address of the sender of the e-mail received in the past are not used for a certain period after the final communication with the other party, the RAM 3 is automatically used. Is erased from Each time it is deleted, the contents of the e-mail address search list change, and the correspondence between the e-mail address and the reference number also changes. The unused period, which is a condition for automatically deleting the e-mail address from the RAM 3, can be arbitrarily set by the operator from the operation display unit 7.
[0008]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when the network facsimile apparatus performs mail transmission without inputting an e-mail address by using an e-mail address search list reference number.
When the e-mail address search list is printed out by inputting the e-mail address search key and the first character, the operator finds the e-mail address of the transmission destination from the list and confirms the corresponding serial number. Next, after pressing the reference number selection key on the operation display section 7 (Y in S1, Y in S2), input the reference number corresponding to the destination e-mail address (Y in S3), and the reference number selection key again. Is input (Y in S4). Then, an e-mail address corresponding to the input reference number is displayed on the operation display unit 7 (S5). At this time, it is not necessary to input the destination e-mail address.
If the e-mail address corresponding to the entered reference number is different from the e-mail address that was used to send the last e-mail because of the e-mail address that was deleted because it has not been used for a certain period. (N in S6), this is transmitted to the operator by display on the operation display unit 7 (S7). If there is no problem with the e-mail address displayed on the operation display unit 7 (Y in S6), the operator presses the start key on the operation display unit 7 (Y in S8). When the start key is pressed, the network facsimile apparatus performs mail transmission to the destination designated by the operator (S9).
The communication apparatus according to the present invention has been described by taking a network facsimile apparatus as an example, but examples of the communication apparatus include a mobile phone, a PC, and a PDA.
[0009]
【The invention's effect】
Above according to the present invention, as described, when performing electronic mail transmission to the destination using the added reference number to search have been each e-mail address, e-mail corresponding to the reference number When the address is different from the previous call, a notification to that effect is made, so that the e-mail address that has not been used for a long time is automatically deleted from the storage means, and the correspondence between the reference number and the e-mail address has changed. In some cases, the operator can notice it before sending mail, and mail sending to the wrong destination can be prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a network facsimile apparatus as a communication apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an e-mail address search list.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when the network facsimile apparatus searches for a corresponding electronic mail address by designating a first character and prints it out.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a control procedure when the network facsimile apparatus performs mail transmission without inputting an e-mail address using an e-mail address search list reference number.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 system control unit, 3 RAM (storage means), 6 plotter, 7 operation display unit

Claims (3)

In a communication device that is connected to a network and has a function of transmitting and receiving image information via e-mail,
Corresponding to the email address of the destination of the email sent in the past, the communication history information with the destination, the email address of the sender of the email received in the past, the communication history information with the sender, speed dial Storage means for storing registered email addresses;
By specifying the first character with an arbitrary number of characters, you can search for the corresponding email address from the stored email addresses and print it out with the plotter, and store it by specifying the first character with an arbitrary number of characters. A function that prints and outputs the corresponding e-mail address from among the e-mail addresses by adding a reference number according to the search condition to each e-mail address By using the reference number added to each e-mail address searched by designating the first character by the number of characters of e-mail, the e-mail is transmitted to the destination without inputting the e-mail address. Use the function and the reference number added to each searched email address to send email to that destination Come to, when the electronic mail address corresponding to the reference number is different from the previous calling the communication apparatus characterized by comprising a system control unit having a function of notifying to that effect.   2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein when the first character is designated by an arbitrary number of characters, the corresponding e-mail address is searched from among the stored e-mail addresses and all of the e-mail addresses are printed out. A communication apparatus characterized in that the serial number added to the key consists of a designated first character and a serial number. In a communication device that is connected to a network and has a function of transmitting and receiving image information via e-mail,
Corresponding to the email address of the destination of the email sent in the past, the communication history information with the destination, the email address of the sender of the email received in the past, the communication history information with the sender, speed dial Storage means for storing registered email addresses;
By specifying the first character with an arbitrary number of characters, a function to search the corresponding e-mail address from the stored e-mail addresses and print it out with the plotter, and the e-mail address of the destination of e-mails sent in the past Among the information and e-mail address information of the sender of e-mails received in the past, an e-mail address that has not been used for a certain period of time is automatically deleted from the storage means, and each searched e-mail address When using the reference number added to the e-mail address to send an e-mail to that destination, if the e-mail address corresponding to the reference number is different from the previous call, notify that fact. And a system control means having a function.

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