JP4058894B2 - Data communication device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a data communication apparatus for transmitting color images.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Facsimile apparatuses are widely used for image transmission, and color image facsimile communication is also realized. Normally, the facsimile machine on the receiving side prints out the sent image immediately. This immediacy increases the utility value of facsimile communication.
[0003]
On the other hand, as another transmission form, there is electronic mail communication in a LAN or the Internet. The recipient can open the e-mail at any time, and can display or print the image received as an attached file. Electronic mail communication is useful when importance is attached to confidentiality and certainty.
[0004]
Conventionally, a communication device that automatically uses facsimile communication and electronic mail communication has been proposed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-69126 stores registration information indicating whether or not image transmission by e-mail communication is possible for each destination, and facsimile communication is used for the destination for which image transmission by e-mail communication is disabled. And a communication device for notifying the other party of the image transmission by e-mail.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In color image data communication, if the color reproduction range of the image output on the receiving side is narrower than the color range of the transmission data (original image), some colors may be output in different colors, or the color of the entire image There is a problem that balance is lost. This problem is particularly serious in communications (for example, responses to product color inquiries) whose main purpose is transmission of color information.
[0006]
In general, the color reproduction range of a print is narrower than that of a screen display, so that when a printout is performed on the receiving side, a noticeable color shift tends to occur between the original image and the print image. For the problem of color balance, there is a measure to perform color compression that narrows the color range to the color reproduction range for the original image. However, even if color compression is performed, the color of the original image is not faithfully reproduced. In order to faithfully reproduce the color of the original image, there is no problem if it is sent as an attached file to an e-mail to the other party. However, there are still many opportunities to prioritize facsimile transmission when transmitting image data due to familiarity and ease of use. Thus, when sent by facsimile communication, conventionally, it has not been possible to cope with the color shift as described above. If the user set the transmission method every time it was sent, there was a problem that the operability deteriorated and the immediacy was lost by sending an e-mail even when printing was possible without problems with facsimile communication. .
[0007]
An object of the present invention is to provide a data communication apparatus capable of faithful reproduction on the receiving side in consideration of immediacy and usability.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The apparatus of the invention of claim 1 includes a communication means for a communication means for image data communication with the destination of the data communication apparatus and the first embodiment, the image data communication with the destination of the data communication apparatus and the second embodiment, Transmission control means for selecting one of the first form and the second form based on information indicating the color reproduction range of the image output by the printing unit in the counterpart data communication apparatus , and selected A data communication device that transmits image data to the data communication device of the other party by communication means corresponding to the form.
[0009]
The data communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmission control unit determines an inclusion relationship between the color range of the image data and the color reproduction range, and the first and second modes according to the result. Select one.
[0010]
4. The data communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the first form is facsimile communication, the second form is e-mail communication, and the transmission control means includes the color range within the color reproduction range. In some cases, facsimile communication is selected, and in other cases, e-mail communication is selected.
[0011]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the image data is monochrome data, the transmission control means selects facsimile communication without determining the inclusion relationship.
[0012]
The apparatus of the invention of claim 5, printing and communication means for performing data communication transmission source communication device and the image, storage means for storing the image data by the communication means receives the image data by the communication means receives And a reception control unit that determines whether to print the image data according to the color range of the image data received by the communication unit or to store the image data without printing.
[0013]
The data communication apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the reception control unit determines to print the image data when the color range of the received image data is within the color reproduction range of the printing unit. In this case, a decision is made to store without printing.
[0014]
In the data communication apparatus according to the seventh aspect of the invention, the communication means performs at least one of facsimile reception and electronic mail reception.
9. The data communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein, when the received image data is monochrome data, the reception control means prints the image data assuming that the color range is within the color reproduction range of the printing means. Make a decision.
[0015]
A device according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is a data communication system in which image data is transmitted and received by the data communication device according to the first aspect and the data communication device according to the fifth aspect.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data communication system according to the present invention.
The data communication system 100 includes at least two facsimile machines 1 and 2, a public line network 7 capable of telephone communication, and the Internet 8. The facsimile apparatus 1 includes a monitor 1B as a screen display unit, and similarly, the facsimile apparatus 2 includes a monitor 2B. Both of these facsimile apparatuses 1 and 2 can transmit and receive color image data. However, in FIG. 1, the facsimile apparatus 1 is represented as a data communication apparatus on the transmission side, and the facsimile apparatus 2 is represented as a data communication apparatus on the reception side. In the data communication system 100, it is possible to select between facsimile communication using the public line network 7 and electronic mail communication using the public line network 7 and the Internet 8, and these two types of communication are image data to be communicated. It is used properly according to the color range.
[0017]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the facsimile apparatus. Since the configurations of the facsimile apparatuses 1 and 2 are the same, the configuration of the facsimile apparatus 1 will be described here as a representative.
[0018]
The basic components related to the transmission / reception operation in the facsimile apparatus 1 are a reading unit 11 for converting an image of a document into data, an image memory 12 for temporarily storing image data, a telephone communication unit 13 for facsimile communication, an electronic mail A network communication unit 14 for communication, a print unit 15 for printing, a CPU 16 as a controller, an operation panel 17, and a display unit 18 responsible for screen display. The monitor 1B described above is a component of the display unit 18. In transmission, image data is sent from the reading unit 11 to the telephone communication unit 13 or the network communication unit 14 via the image memory 12 as a buffer. In reception, image data is sent from the telephone communication unit 13 or the network communication unit 14 to the image memory 12. In the case of facsimile communication, the image data is immediately transferred from the image memory 12 to the printing unit 15 and printed. In the case of electronic mail communication, image data is stored in the image memory 12 until the user performs a print or display instruction operation. When printing is instructed, the image data is transferred from the image memory 12 to the printing unit 15 and printed. When the display is instructed, the image data is transferred from the image memory 12 to the display unit 18 and displayed on the monitor 1B. The color reproduction range of the display is wider than that of the printout.
[0019]
In addition to the basic components, the facsimile machine 1 includes a color reproduction range storage unit 19, a transmission color range analysis unit 20, and a color range determination unit 21 as components related to the proper use of communication forms.
[0020]
The color reproduction range storage unit 19 stores data DR2 indicating the color reproduction range of image output at each destination for each registered destination. As for the acquisition of the data DR2, there are a form in which the user performs registration work such as code input and a form in which the user is automatically inquired for each communication. When making an inquiry, the color reproduction range storage unit 19 also stores the color reproduction range of the printing unit 15 in order to respond to an inquiry from the other party. The stored contents may be fixed data or variable data that is corrected based on appropriate print state detection.
[0021]
The transmission color range analysis unit 20 outputs data DR1 indicating the color range of the image data to be transmitted. As for the acquisition of the data DR1, there are a form in which the user determines which of the color reproduction ranges ranked in advance corresponds to an original and performs an input operation, and a form in which image data is automatically analyzed for each communication. When there are a plurality of documents, it is desirable to determine the color range by combining all the documents.
[0022]
When transmitting, the color range determination unit 21 compares the data DR1 and the data DR2, and outputs data DJ indicating the inclusion relationship between the color range of the image data to be transmitted and the color reproduction range of the other party. A communication mode is selected by the CPU 16 based on the data DJ.
[0023]
When the color range is included in the color reproduction range (this is referred to as the case within the color reproduction range), the CPU 16 selects facsimile communication and instructs the telephone communication unit 13 to transmit data. When the color gamut is not included in the color gamut (this is referred to as a case outside the color gamut), the CPU 16 instructs the operation panel 17 to display a message indicating that the e-mail communication is selected. Thereafter, if the user approves the selection, the CPU 16 instructs the network communication unit 14 to send the data. If the user does not accept the selection, the CPU 16 selects the facsimile communication and instructs the telephone communication unit 13 to send the data.
[0024]
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a layout of the operation panel, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of message display.
The operation panel 17 has ten keys 171 for various settings including dialing and partner registration, a partner selection key group 172, a start key 173, a liquid crystal display 174, a display instruction key 175, and judgment input keys 176 and 177. . The liquid crystal display 174 displays various guidance screens. If it is outside the color reproduction range described above, the liquid crystal display 174 displays a message Z1 as shown in FIG. In response to this, the user turns on one of the judgment input keys 176 and 177.
[0025]
Hereinafter, the operation of the facsimile apparatus 1 will be described with reference to a flowchart.
FIG. 5 is a main flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the facsimile apparatus.
When the CPU 16 finishes the initial setting (# 1) upon power-on, it starts a timer that defines the length of one routine (# 2), input processing (# 3), transmission control (# 4) reception control ( # 5) and display control (# 6) are sequentially executed. Thereafter, after the timer is finished (# 7), the process returns to step # 2. During the period when the power is turned on, the processes of step # 2 to step # 7 are repeated.
[0026]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the input processing subroutine.
If transmission is in progress, the routine exits as it is (# 31). If an operation for designating the other party is performed and the address is an Internet address, Internet transmission (e-mail communication) is selected (# 32 to # 34). Then, the transmission instruction flag is set in response to the start key 173 being turned on (# 35, # 36).
[0027]
On the other hand, when the addressee of the designated destination is not an Internet address, that is, when the addressee is a telephone number and facsimile communication is designated (# 33), it is checked whether the transmission image data is monochrome data (# 33). # 37). If monochrome, telephone line transmission (facsimile communication) is selected (# 43). This is because the problem of color reproduction does not occur. On the other hand, if the transmission image data is color data, the color range of the transmission image data is analyzed to obtain data DR1 (# 38), and data DR2 is obtained to reproduce the color of the destination print. The range is grasped (# 39). When the relationship between the color range and the color reproduction range is outside the color reproduction range, a message as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed (# 40, # 41). When judgment input key (YES key) 176 is turned on, Internet transmission is selected (# 42, # 34). This is because it is possible to select whether to print at the other party or to display a screen with better color reproducibility than printing. If the judgment input key (NO key) 177 is turned on, the user does not approve the selection of internet transmission, so telephone line transmission is selected (# 43). After selecting Internet transmission or telephone line transmission in this way, the process proceeds to step # 35 where a start instruction is confirmed.
[0028]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the transmission subroutine.
If transmission is in progress, other communication processing for continuing transmission is executed (# 51, # 56). If the transmission instruction flag is set instead of being transmitted, Internet transmission or telephone line transmission is started according to the selection of the communication mode in the input process (# 51 to # 55).
[0029]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the reception subroutine.
If the communication state is not the reception state, the routine exits as it is (# 60). If the latest reception is Internet reception, the received data is stored in the memory (# 61, # 62). If the latest reception is not Internet reception, that is, if data is received by facsimile communication, it is checked whether the received data is monochrome data (# 63). If the received data is monochrome data, there is no problem of color reproduction, so the received data is printed out (# 67). On the other hand, if the received data is color data, the color range of the received data is analyzed and the printout color reproduction range is read from the color reproduction range storage unit 19 (# 64, # 65). When the color range of the received data is included in the color reproduction range of the printout (in the color reproduction range), the reception data is printed out (# 66, # 67). When the color range of the received data is not included in the color reproduction range of the printout, a problem of color reproduction occurs, so the received data is stored in the memory without performing the printout (# 66, # 62).
[0030]
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the display subroutine.
When image data received by e-mail communication is stored in the image memory 12, the image data is read from the image memory 12 and transferred to the display unit 18 in response to the display instruction key 175 being turned on, and the image data is displayed on the screen. It is displayed (# 71 to # 74). Then, other display processing for controlling the liquid crystal display of the operation panel 17 is performed (# 75).
[0031]
According to the above embodiment, since the user does not need to set a transmission method every time transmission is performed, operability is improved. When printing can be performed without problems even by facsimile communication, the user does not lose immediacy by selecting mail transmission.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
According to the inventions of claims 1 to 9, faithful color reproduction on the receiving side is possible without impairing immediacy or usability.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a data communication system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the facsimile apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a layout of an operation panel.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a message display.
FIG. 5 is a main flowchart showing an outline of the operation of the facsimile apparatus.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an input processing subroutine.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a transmission subroutine.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a reception subroutine.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a display subroutine.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 2 Facsimile equipment (data communication equipment)
13 Telephone communication part (communication means)
14 Network communication unit (communication means)
DR2 data (information indicating the color reproduction range)
16 CPU (transmission control means, reception control means)
DR1 data (color range of image data)
12 Image memory (storage means)
15 Print section (printing means)
100 Data communication system

Claims (9)

Communication means for performing image data communication destination of the data communication apparatus and the first embodiment,
Communication means for performing image data communication by the destination of the data communication apparatus and the second embodiment,
Transmission control means for selecting one of the first form and the second form based on information indicating the color reproduction range of the image output by the printing unit in the data communication apparatus of the other party ,
A data communication device , wherein image data is transmitted to the data communication device of the other party by communication means corresponding to the selected form. 2. The data communication according to claim 1, wherein the transmission control unit determines an inclusion relationship between a color range of the image data and the color reproduction range, and selects one of the first and second forms according to the result. apparatus. The first form is facsimile communication, the second form is e-mail communication,
The data communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmission control unit selects facsimile communication when the color range is within the color reproduction range, and selects electronic mail communication in other cases. 4. The data communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmission control unit selects facsimile communication without determining the inclusion relation when the image data is monochrome data. 5. A communication means for performing image data communication with the data communication device of the transmission source ;
Storage means for storing image data received by the communication means ;
Printing means for printing the image data received by the communication means ;
It said communication means in accordance with the color range of the image data received by the data communication is characterized in that and a reception control means for determining whether to store without printing or printing the image data apparatus. The reception control unit determines to print the image data when the color range of the image data received by the communication unit is within the color reproduction range of the printing unit, and without printing in other cases. The data communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a decision to store is made. The data communication apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the communication unit performs at least one of facsimile reception and electronic mail reception. 6. The reception control unit, when the image data received by the communication unit is monochrome data, determines to print the image data on the assumption that the color range is within the color reproduction range of the printing unit. The data communication apparatus according to claim 7.   A data communication system that transmits and receives image data by the data communication apparatus according to claim 1 and the data communication apparatus according to claim 5.

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