JP7729099B2 - Image communication device, image communication system, image communication method and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image communication device, an image communication system, an image communication method, and a program.

Technology has been known for some time that forwards a received facsimile document to a pre-registered forwarding destination when the document is received by facsimile.

However, with conventional facsimile forwarding technology, in order to manage read and unread status at the destination when forwarding received facsimile documents, a proprietary application had to be installed on the destination terminal.

Regarding facsimile forwarding, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-348310 (Patent Document 1) discloses technology aimed at providing a fax machine that allows a user to receive received documents as needed while out. Patent Document 1 discloses a fax machine that can temporarily store and forward documents received from an external device, and that forwards received documents to a fax number specified in a returned reception notification email using a communications control unit based on the fax number of the forwarding destination. However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose anything about managing read and unread documents when forwarding received facsimile documents without installing special software.

This disclosure has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide an image communication device that enables management of read and unread status of received image data at the forwarding destination without the need to install special software.

In order to solve the above problems, the present disclosure provides an image communication device having the following characteristics. The image communication device includes an image receiving means for receiving image data. The image communication device also includes a forwarding means for forwarding the received image data attached to a message requesting an opening confirmation. The image communication device further includes a notification receiving means for receiving an opening confirmation notification, and a status recording means for recording the confirmation status of the image data at the forwarding destination based on the opening confirmation notification associated with the image data.

The above configuration makes it possible to manage the read and unread status of received image data at the destination without installing special software.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a network environment in which a multifunction peripheral having a facsimile sending and receiving function and a facsimile sending and receiving device according to this embodiment are arranged. FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a multifunction peripheral as an image communication apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of a personal computer (PC) as a destination information processing device according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of a smartphone as a destination information processing device in this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining functions related to the transfer process and viewing state management of a facsimile document in the multifunction peripheral according to this embodiment. FIG. 6 explains the flow of processing when transferring a facsimile document between the multifunction peripheral, the personal computer, and the mail server according to this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a transfer process executed by the multifunction peripheral according to this embodiment when a facsimile is received. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of a viewing state management table managed by the multifunction peripheral according to this embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the embodiments described below. Note that in the embodiments described below, a multifunction peripheral or facsimile transmitting/receiving device with facsimile transmitting/receiving functionality will be used as an example of an image communication device.

Figure 1 illustrates a network environment 100 in which a multifunction peripheral 104 equipped with facsimile transmission and reception functionality and a facsimile transmission and reception device 106 according to this embodiment are located.

As shown in FIG. 1, the network environment 100 includes a multifunction peripheral 104, a facsimile transmitting/receiving device 106, a mail server 108, a personal computer 110, and a smartphone 112, each of which is connected to the Internet 102. For simplicity, in the described embodiment, each device is depicted as if it were directly connected to the Internet 102; however, each device may be connected to a local network such as a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or a mobile communication network such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) or 5G (Fifth Generation Mobile Communication System), as appropriate, and connected to the Internet via a router, base station, or the like.

The multifunction peripheral 104 and facsimile transmitting/receiving device 106 are connected to the public switched telephone network 103 and send and receive documents according to protocols that comply with specified facsimile communication standards, such as the G3 and G4 standards. The multifunction peripheral 104 and facsimile transmitting/receiving device 106 are each examples of image communication devices that have the function of receiving facsimiles and forwarding image data of received facsimile documents to a specified destination.

In this embodiment, the personal computer 110 and smartphone 112 are each terminals to which image data of received facsimile documents can be transferred. The personal computer 110 and smartphone 112 shown in FIG. 1 are merely examples, and the transfer destination is not particularly limited; an external system such as a document management system or database can also be the transfer destination. Other multifunction peripherals or facsimile transmission/reception devices can also be used as terminals to which image data of received facsimile documents can be transferred.

The mail server 108 is a server for sending, receiving, and delivering emails in accordance with a specified protocol such as SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3), or IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol). Note that the sender and recipient may communicate with different mail servers, but for the sake of convenience, we will assume here that the sender and recipient access the same mail server to perform email sending and receiving processes.

First, the hardware configuration of the main devices in this embodiment will be explained below with reference to Figures 2 to 4.

Figure 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a multifunction peripheral (MPP) serving as an image communication device according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the MFP (Multifunction Peripheral/Product/Printer) 9 includes a controller 910, a short-range communication circuit 920, an engine control unit 930, an operation panel 940, a network I/F 950, and a facsimile control unit (FCU) 960.

Of these, the controller 910 includes the CPU (Central Processing Unit) 901, which is the main part of the computer, system memory (MEM-P) 902, north bridge (NB) 903, south bridge (SB) 904, ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 906, local memory (MEM-C) 907, which is a storage unit, HDD (Hard Disc Drive) controller 908, and HD (Hard Disk) 909, which is also a storage unit, with the NB 903 and ASIC 906 connected via an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 921.

Of these, the CPU 901 is a control unit that performs overall control of the multifunction device 9. The NB 903 is a bridge that connects the CPU 901 with the MEM-P 902, SB 904, and AGP bus 921, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 902, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master, and an AGP target.

MEM-P902 consists of ROM902a, which is memory for storing programs and data that realize the various functions of controller 910, and RAM902b, which is used for expanding programs and data and as drawing memory during memory printing. The programs stored in RAM902b may also be provided by being recorded in installable or executable files on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc - Read Only Memory), CD-R (Compact Disc Recordable), or DVD (Digital Versatile Disc).

SB904 is a bridge connecting NB903 with PCI devices and peripheral devices. ASIC906 is an integrated circuit (IC) for image processing applications that contains hardware elements for image processing and acts as a bridge connecting AGP bus 921, PCI bus 922, HDD controller 908, and MEM-C907. This ASIC906 consists of a PCI target and AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of ASIC906, a memory controller that controls MEM-C907, multiple DMACs (Direct Memory Access Controllers) that perform image data rotation using hardware logic, and a PCI unit that transfers data between scanner unit 931 and printer unit 932 via PCI bus 922. A USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface or an IEEE 1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 1394) interface may also be connected to the ASIC 906.

MEM-C907 is local memory used as a copy image buffer and code buffer. HD909 is storage for storing image data, font data used during printing, and forms. HD controller 808 controls the reading and writing of data from HD909 under the control of CPU901. AGP bus 921 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed to speed up graphics processing; direct high-throughput access to MEM-P902 enables the graphics accelerator card to operate at high speed.

The short-range communication circuit 920 also includes an antenna 920a. The short-range communication circuit 920 is a communication circuit such as NFC or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

The engine control unit 930 is further comprised of a scanner unit 931 and a printer unit 932. The FCU 960 is connected to the ASIC 906 via the PCI bus 922. The FCU 960 executes a communication method conforming to a facsimile communication standard such as G3 or G4. The operation panel 940 includes a panel display unit 940a, such as a touch panel, that displays current settings and selection screens and accepts input from the operator, as well as an operation panel 940b that includes a numeric keypad that accepts settings for image formation conditions such as density settings and a start key that accepts a copy start command. The controller 910 controls the entire multifunction device 9, controlling, for example, drawing, communication, and input from the operation panel 940. The scanner unit 931 or printer unit 932 includes image processing functions such as error diffusion and gamma conversion.

The multifunction device 9 can be used to sequentially switch between the document box function, copy function, printer function, and facsimile function using the application switching key on the operation panel 940. When the document box function is selected, the device enters document box mode; when the copy function is selected, the device enters copy mode; when the printer function is selected, the device enters printer mode; and when the facsimile mode is selected, the device enters facsimile mode.

The network I/F 950 is an interface for data communication using a communication network. The short-range communication circuit 920 and the network I/F 950 are electrically connected to the ASIC 906 via the PCI bus 922.

Note that while the hardware configuration of the multifunction peripheral 104 has been described with reference to Figure 2, the facsimile transmitting/receiving device 106 can also be implemented with a similar configuration by adding and removing hardware components as appropriate.

Figure 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of a personal computer (PC) serving as the destination information processing device in this embodiment. Figure 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of a PC. Here, the hardware configuration of PC5 will be described.

As shown in Figure 3, PC 5 is constructed by a computer and includes a CPU 501, ROM (Read Only Memory) 502, RAM (Random Access Memory) 503, HDD 504, HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 505, display 506, external device connection I/F (Interface) 508, network I/F 509, data bus 510, keyboard 511, pointing device 512, DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 514, and media I/F 516.

Of these, the CPU 501 controls the overall operation of the PC 5. The ROM 502 stores programs used to drive the CPU 501, such as IPL. The RAM 503 is used as a work area for the CPU 501. The HDD 504 stores various data, such as programs. The HDD controller 505 controls the reading and writing of various data from the HDD 504 under the control of the CPU 501. The display 506 displays various information, such as a cursor, menus, windows, text, or images. The external device connection I/F 508 is an interface for connecting various external devices. In this case, external devices include, for example, USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory and printers. The network I/F 509 is an interface for data communication using a communication network. The bus line 510 is an address bus, data bus, etc. for electrically connecting the various components, such as the CPU 501, shown in FIG. 3.

The keyboard 511 is a type of input device equipped with multiple keys for inputting characters, numbers, various instructions, etc. The pointing device 512 is a type of input device for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting processing targets, moving the cursor, etc. The DVD-RW drive 514 controls the reading and writing of various data from a DVD-RW 513, which is an example of a removable recording medium. Note that this is not limited to a DVD-RW, and may be a DVD-R or the like. The media I/F 516 controls the reading and writing (storing) of data from a recording medium 515, such as a flash memory.

Note that while the hardware configuration of the PC was explained with reference to Figure 3, the mail server 108 can also be implemented by adding and removing hardware components as appropriate.

Figure 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of a smartphone serving as a destination information processing device in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 4, the smartphone 4 includes a CPU 401, ROM 402, RAM 403, EEPROM 404, CMOS sensor 405, image sensor I/F 406, acceleration and orientation sensor 407, media I/F 409, and GPS receiver 411.

Of these, the CPU 401 controls the overall operation of the smartphone 4. The ROM 402 stores the CPU 401 and programs used to drive the CPU 401, such as the IPL. The RAM 403 is used as a work area for the CPU 401. The EEPROM 404 reads and writes various data, such as smartphone programs, under the control of the CPU 401. The CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor 405 is a type of built-in imaging device that captures images of subjects (mainly self-portraits) and obtains image data under the control of the CPU 401. Note that instead of a CMOS sensor, imaging devices such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor may also be used. The imaging element I/F 406 is a circuit that controls the operation of the CMOS sensor 405. The acceleration/azimuth sensor 407 is a variety of sensors, such as an electronic magnetic compass or gyrocompass that detects geomagnetism, and an acceleration sensor. The media I/F 409 controls the reading and writing (storage) of data from and to a recording medium 408, such as a flash memory. The GPS receiver 411 receives GPS signals from GPS satellites.

The smartphone 4 also includes a long-distance communication circuit 412, a CMOS sensor 413, an image sensor I/F 414, a microphone 415, a speaker 416, an audio input/output I/F 417, a display 418, an external device connection I/F (Interface) 419, a short-distance communication circuit 420, an antenna 420a for the short-distance communication circuit 420, and a touch panel 421.

Of these, the long-distance communication circuit 412 is a circuit that communicates with other devices via a communication network. The CMOS sensor 413 is a type of built-in imaging means that captures an image of a subject and obtains image data under the control of the CPU 401. The image sensor I/F 414 is a circuit that controls the operation of the CMOS sensor 413. The microphone 415 is a built-in circuit that converts sound into an electrical signal. The speaker 416 is a built-in circuit that converts electrical signals into physical vibrations to produce sounds such as music and voice. The sound input/output I/F 417 is a circuit that processes the input and output of sound signals between the microphone 415 and speaker 416 under the control of the CPU 401. The display 418 is a type of display means, such as an LCD or organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, that displays images of subjects, various icons, etc. The external device connection I/F 419 is an interface for connecting various external devices. The short-distance communication circuit 420 is a communication circuit such as NFC (Near Field Communication) or Bluetooth (registered trademark). The touch panel 421 is a type of input means that allows the user to operate the smartphone 4 by pressing the display 418.

The smartphone 4 also includes a bus line 410. The bus line 410 is an address bus, a data bus, etc., that electrically connects the components, such as the CPU 401, shown in FIG. 4.

The hardware configuration of the device has been explained above. Below, we will explain the functions of this embodiment for transferring facsimile documents and managing the viewing status at the transfer destination, with reference to Figure 5.

There is technology that forwards received fax documents to a pre-registered destination when they are received by facsimile, but there is a demand for knowing whether the document has been read (read) or not (unread) at the destination. To meet this demand, a proprietary application can be installed on the destination device to manage read and unread status at the destination when the received document is forwarded. However, this requires the installation of a proprietary application on the destination device, and for various reasons there is a demand for managing read status without installing an application.

Accordingly, the multifunction device 104 (or facsimile transmitting/receiving device 106; hereinafter, the multifunction device 104 will be used as a representative) according to this embodiment forwards the image data of documents received by facsimile to a pre-registered forwarding destination via the mail system. The viewing status of the image data of documents received by facsimile is then recorded and managed in the multifunction device 104 using the mail system's mechanism for confirming whether the document has been opened.

Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating functions related to facsimile document transfer processing and viewing state management in the multifunction peripheral 104 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, the functional block 210 of the controller 910 includes a facsimile service control unit 212 and a hard disk control unit 220. Furthermore, the functional block 230 of the FCU 960 includes a facsimile (FAX) receiving unit 232 and a facsimile (FAX) job control unit 234. Each of these may be configured, for example, as a software module running on the controller 910 or the FCU 960.

The facsimile receiving unit 232 detects incoming calls on the telephone line, executes control based on recommendations such as G3 and G4, and passes image data of the received facsimile document to the facsimile service control unit 212. The facsimile receiving unit 232 constitutes the image receiving means in this embodiment. The facsimile job control unit 234 manages the facsimile reception process as a job and controls its progress.

The facsimile service control unit 212 controls the facsimile service, and the hard disk control unit 220 stores image data of received facsimile documents as document files on the HDD 909. The hard disk control unit 220 corresponds to the HDD controller 908 shown in Figure 2, which controls the reading and writing of data to the HDD 909.

In this embodiment, the facsimile service control unit 212 also transfers image data of received facsimile documents and manages the viewing status at the transfer destination. More specifically, the facsimile service control unit 212 includes a transfer unit 214, a notification receiving unit 216, and a viewing status recording unit 218.

The forwarding unit 214 attaches image data of the received facsimile document to a message requesting confirmation of opening, and sends the attached image data to the forwarding destination user via the network. In a specific embodiment, the message is an email, and in this case, the forwarding destination is a terminal that performs email reception processing for a user who has been pre-registered as a forwarding destination. The forwarding unit 214 constitutes the forwarding means in this embodiment.

Here, it is assumed that general settings regarding the email forwarding of received facsimile documents have already been configured. In other words, it is assumed that the initial settings for email transmission, such as the server name and IP address of the SMTP server, the email address of the multifunction device, port number, and authentication information such as a password, as well as the forwarding conditions for received facsimile documents and the email address to which received facsimile documents will be forwarded, have been set in advance. Note that the forwarding conditions can be set to target all received facsimile documents, documents received from a specific sender number, or documents received on a specific day of the week or during a specific time period.

When adding image data to a message, the image data of the received facsimile document can be sent as an email attachment, but it is preferable to use HTML (HyperText Markup Language) format for the email and paste the image data into the message body. The image data is not particularly limited, but can be in any image format, such as bitmap format, JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) format, PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format, or GIF (Graphics Interchange Format).

The above-mentioned read confirmation is requested from the recipient according to a specified email protocol, and a read confirmation notice is sent in response to the user opening the email. For example, a read confirmation can be requested by entering the email address of the multifunction device in the Disposition-Notification-To: or X-Confirm-Reading-To: section of the email header. When the recipient's mailer receives this email requesting a read confirmation, it will respond to the user's operation by sending a read confirmation email to the email address of the multifunction device.

The notification receiving unit 216 receives this notification of confirmation of opening. The notification receiving unit 216 constitutes the notification receiving means in this embodiment. Here, it is assumed that general items related to receiving email have already been set. In other words, it is assumed that initial settings related to receiving email, such as server names such as POP3 or IMAP servers, IP addresses, port numbers, and authentication information such as passwords, have been set in advance.

The viewing status recording unit 218 records and manages the viewing status (read/unread) of forwarded received facsimile documents at the forwarding destination. Immediately after receiving and storing a received facsimile document, the viewing status recording unit 218 first records and manages the document as unread. The above-mentioned received facsimile document and the email requesting a read confirmation are associated, for example, by an identifier. In response to receiving an open confirmation notification for the email requesting a read confirmation, the viewing status recording unit 218 records the received facsimile document associated with this open confirmation notification as read. In this embodiment, the viewing status indicating read or unread constitutes the confirmation status at the forwarding destination, and the viewing status recording unit 218 constitutes a status recording means.

Note that the confirmation of opening can be made using MDN (Message Disposition Notifications), a standard protocol for email, but is not limited to this. In another embodiment, an image specified by a specific URL can be embedded in the email as an HTML format email, the server detects the loading of the image, and upon receiving a notification from the server, the email is considered to have been opened at the forwarding destination. In yet another embodiment, a link for explicitly confirming opening can be embedded in the email, and the server detects access in response to a user clicking on the link, and upon receiving a notification from the server, the email is considered to have been opened at the forwarding destination.

Figure 6 explains the flow of processing during the transfer process of a facsimile document between the multifunction device 104, mail server 108, and personal computer 110 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 6, processing begins in the multifunction device 104 in response to receiving document image data via facsimile communication (S100).

Then, the multifunction device 104 sets the viewing status of the facsimile-received document to unread (S101). Then, the multifunction device 104 creates an email addressed to the forwarding email address, with image data of the document pasted into the email body (S102), and executes the sending process for this email (S103). This email requests confirmation of opening using the mechanism described above. The mail server 108 accepts the sending process for this email and executes the process of delivering it to the email address specified as the destination.

Once the delivery process is complete, the destination personal computer 110 receives the email using, for example, an appropriate mailer (S104). At this time, the user can select the email on the mailer and view the image data attached to the email. Then, in response to the email content being displayed (opened), the mailer sends an open confirmation notification to the source of the open confirmation request (S105). In a specific embodiment, the open confirmation is sent by the mail server 108 as a reply to the email address of the multifunction device 104, which is the reply destination, and the multifunction device 104 performs processing to receive the open confirmation notification (S106). In response to this, the multifunction device 104 changes the viewing status of the document associated with the email corresponding to the open confirmation notification from unread to read (S107).

Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the transfer process executed by the multifunction peripheral 104 when a facsimile is received according to this embodiment. The process shown in Figure 7 begins at step S200 in response to the detection of a facsimile reception.

In step S201, the multifunction device 104 receives an incoming facsimile communication addressed to itself via the facsimile receiving unit 232 and receives image data of the document. In step S202, the multifunction device 104 stores the document on the HDD 909 via the hard disk control unit 220, and records and manages the document as unread via the viewing status recording unit 218.

Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the data structure of a viewing status management table 250 managed by the multifunction device 104 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 8, the viewing status management table 250 includes a column 252 for recording a document identifier (ID), a column 254 for recording a forwarding destination, and a column 256 for recording a viewing status of read or unread. Immediately after a document is stored, the viewing status is "unread."

Referring again to FIG. 7, in step S203, the multifunction device 104 creates an email addressed to a pre-registered email address, with image data of the received facsimile document attached. In step S204, the multifunction device 104 causes the forwarding unit 214 to send the email with the image data of the received facsimile document attached to the pre-registered forwarding destination via the mail server 108, and then proceeds to step S205.

In step S205, the multifunction device 104 waits for an open confirmation notification for the sent email and determines whether or not the open confirmation notification has been received. If it is determined in step S205 that an open confirmation notification has not yet been received (NO), processing branches to step S206. In step S206, the multifunction device 104 determines whether or not a timeout has occurred. If it is determined in step S206 that a timeout has not occurred (NO), processing loops to step S205. If it is determined in step S205 that an open confirmation notification has been received (YES), processing proceeds to step S207.

In step S207, the multifunction device 104 uses the viewing status recording unit 218 to record and manage the document associated with the email for which the read confirmation notification was received (the read confirmation and the email are associated by a message ID, etc.) as having been read, and ends processing in step S208. After receiving the read confirmation notification for the email forwarding the document, the viewing status becomes "read," as shown in the example in Figure 8.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S206 that a timeout has occurred (YES), this process ends in step S208. Then, tracking of the browsing status thereafter is discontinued.

The embodiments described above provide an image communication device, image communication system, image communication method, and program that enable management of read and unread status of received images at the forwarding destination without installing special software.

In particular, since it is possible to manage read and unread status of received fax documents using standard email protocols, the destination device only needs a standard email client or, in the case of cloud email, a web browser. Since there is no need to install a dedicated application on the destination device, the administrator's management workload can be reduced.

The functions of the embodiments described above can be realized by one or more processing circuits. In this specification, the term "processing circuit" includes processors programmed to perform functions by software, such as processors implemented by electronic circuits, as well as devices such as ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), DSPs (Digital Signal Processors), FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays), and conventional circuit modules designed to perform the functions described above.

The above describes embodiments and examples of the present invention, but the embodiments and examples of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments and examples. Other embodiments, examples, additions, modifications, deletions, and other changes may be made within the scope of what one skilled in the art can conceive, and any aspect that achieves the functions and effects of the present invention is within the scope of the present invention.

100...Network environment, 102...Internet, 103...Public switched telephone network, 104...Multifunction device, 106...Facsimile transmission/reception device, 108...Mail server, 110...Personal computer, 112...Smartphone, 210, 230...Function block, 212...Facsimile service control unit, 214...Transfer unit, 216...Notification receiving unit, 218...Viewing status recording unit, 220...Hard disk control unit, 232...Facsimile receiving unit, 234...Facsimile job control unit, 250...Viewing status management table, 9...Multifunction device 910...Controller, 901...CPU, 902...System memory (MEM-P), 903...North bridge (NB), 904...South bridge (SB), 906...ASIC, 907...Local memory (MEM-C), 908...HDD controller, 909...HD, 920...Near field communication circuit, 921...AGP bus, 930...Engine control unit, 931...Scanner unit, 932...Printer unit, 940...Operation panel, 940a...Panel display unit, 940b...Operation panel, 950...Network I/F, 960...FCU

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-348310

Claims (9)

image receiving means for receiving image data;
a transfer means for transferring the received image data attached to a message requesting confirmation of opening by embedding the image data in the message body ;
a notification receiving means for receiving an opening confirmation notification in response to detection of reading of the image embedded in the message body;
and a status recording means for recording a confirmation status at a transfer destination of the image data based on the opening confirmation notice. An image communication device according to claim 1, wherein the image receiving means is a means for receiving a facsimile, the message is an email, and the status recording means records the read status when an opening confirmation notification is received. An image communication system including an image communication device and an information processing device, wherein the image communication device
image receiving means for receiving image data;
a transfer means for transferring the received image data attached to a message requesting confirmation of opening by embedding the image data in the message body ;
a notification receiving means for receiving an opening confirmation notification in response to detection of reading of the image embedded in the message body;
and a status recording means for recording a confirmation status of the image data at the transfer destination based on the opening confirmation notice, and the information processing device includes:
a notification sending means for sending a confirmation notification of opening in response to the opening of the message. 4. The image communication system according to claim 3 , wherein said image receiving means is a means for receiving a facsimile, said message is an e-mail, and said status recording means records the read status when receiving a confirmation of opening. An image communication method, comprising:
receiving image data;
forwarding the received image data attached to a message requesting a confirmation of opening by embedding the image data in the message body ;
receiving a read receipt notification in response to detecting a reading of the image embedded in the message body ;
and recording a confirmation status at the transfer destination of the image data based on the opening confirmation notice. The image communication device includes an information processing device,
receiving the message;
The image communication method of claim 5 , further comprising the step of: sending a read confirmation notification in response to the message being opened. 7. The image communication method according to claim 5, wherein the step of receiving the image data includes a step of receiving a facsimile, the message is an email , and the step of recording includes a step of recording a read status when an opening confirmation notification is received. A program for realizing an image communication device, comprising:
image receiving means for receiving image data;
a transfer means for transferring the received image data attached to a message requesting confirmation of opening by embedding the image data in the message body ;
notification receiving means for receiving a read confirmation notification in response to detection of reading of the image embedded in the message body ;
A program for causing the device to function as a status recording means for recording the confirmation status at the transfer destination of the image data based on the opening confirmation notice. 9. The program according to claim 8 , wherein the image receiving means is a means for receiving a facsimile, the message is an e-mail, and the status recording means records the read status when a read confirmation notice is received.