JPS6347302B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to a mailbox heading output method for outputting the headings of each mail stored in a mailbox in a mailbox service using a facsimile storage and forwarding device. Traditional mailbox services, for example,
Each time an e-mail was registered in a mailbox, the holder of the mailbox was simply notified that it had been registered, or by adding information accompanying the e-mail, such as the sender and time of sending. . Therefore, in order for the owner of the mailbox to know the contents of each mail, the entire mail must be output, which is complicated and wastes output time and paper. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a mailbox heading output method that eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art described above and can improve the serviceability and economic efficiency of mailbox services. A feature of the present invention is that a facsimile storage and exchange device having a mailbox service function has a heading creation section that edits and synthesizes headings for desired mailboxes under the control of its mail management section, and or based on the detection result that the number of emails in the mailbox has reached a predetermined number, the heading creation section edits and edits a predetermined portion that should become the heading of each email in the mailbox. This is a mailbox heading output method that allows the combined image data to be sent to the terminal in question. Furthermore, the above-mentioned heading creation section synthesizes/composes a predetermined portion of the specified page of each email in the mailbox that is not completely white as the heading of each email.
It is structured so that it can be memorized. In summary, by summarizing the outline (predetermined part) of each email in the mailbox and notifying the user, it is possible to provide a mailbox service that facilitates the selection of necessary and urgent emails. That is. Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the mailbox heading output method according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the heading creation section of the facsimile storage and forwarding device, and FIG. The communication sequence diagram, FIG. 4, is a conceptual diagram of the same heading output format. In Figure 1, 1A and 1B are facsimile terminals (FAX), main telephones (TEL) of 2A and 2B, 3 are telephone switching networks (TSN), 4 are facsimile storage and switching devices (FMS), and 5 are facsimile terminals (FAX), respectively. , its facsimile procedure control unit (FPC), which communicates with the telephone 1A, the facsimile terminal 2A, or the facsimile terminals 1B and 2B (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as terminals) through the telephone switching network 3. , accepts service requests, executes facsimile procedures, sends and receives image data, and performs other necessary operations;
Reference numeral 6 denotes the same mail management unit (MC), and 7 refers to the same mail counter (MCN), which is provided corresponding to the mailbox and records the number of mails therein (under the control of the mail management unit 6, Registration of,
Counts up and counts down depending on the erasure. ), 8 is a file (F) for storing the image data, and 9 is an index creation unit (IND). Note that the mail management section 6 stores the image data (email) in a predetermined mailbox section of the file 8 in accordance with the service request sent from the facsimile procedure control section 5, and also stores the desired image data from the file 8. is read and sent to the facsimile procedure control section 5, and other necessary operations are performed. In FIG. 2, 90 is a control circuit that performs necessary control on each part of the headquarters, 91 is a line counter, 92 is a decoder for decoding encoded image data into original image data, 93 is an encoder for encoding the original image data; 94 is an all-white recognition circuit for recognizing all white in the image data;
95 is a memory for editing index image data, and 96 is a bus connecting the above-mentioned circuits. The operation of the mailbox service using this method and its heading output will be explained below based on Fig. 3.The signal names and their contents (meanings) in each communication sequence diagram shown in Fig. 3 are as shown in the table below. It is.

[Table] First, the operation of the mailbox service for registering (storing) desired image data (email) in a desired recipient's mailbox (predetermined storage area of file 8) is as shown in FIG. 3a. It will be held in That is, for example, when the facsimile storage and exchange device 4 is accessed via the telephone switching network 3 by the calling signal CALL from the telephone 1A, the facsimile procedure control unit 5 detects this and sends the response signal RES1. Return it and wait for service designation. When a mailbox number designation dial signal DIAL1 (for example, a PB dial signal) is sent from this telephone 1A, the response signal is
RES2 is returned, and image data MSG1 (email) is subsequently sent by the procedure shown in Figure 3a.
is stored in the corresponding storage portion (mailbox) of the file 8 in accordance with the mailbox number designated by the signal DIAL1, under the control and processing of the mail management section 6. From now on, this mail will be managed using the above mailbox number. Next, the output of the heading data of each mail stored in the mailbox will be explained. As shown in FIG. 3b, for example, this telephone 1B
After carrying out the same procedure as in the beginning of FIG. Alternatively, when the number of mails in the mailbox exceeds a predetermined number, the mail management unit 6 recognizes this using the mail counter 7, and the facsimile storage and exchange device 4 sends the mail to the mailbox as shown in FIG. 3c. Call telephone 1B (signal CALL). In either case, the image data MSG2 (mailbox heading data) is transmitted from the facsimile storage and exchange device 4 to the facsimile terminal 2B in accordance with the predetermined procedure shown in FIGS. 3b and 3c. As shown in the conceptual diagram in Figure 4, this mailbox heading data is, for example, the first 3 to 5 cm of the first page of each email that is not completely white (in the figure, "Accounting Report 56/Top", " Sales forecast", ..., "×
XX specifications)), edit, compose, and output by prefixing the mailbox number (for example, NO.12345). Finally, we will explain the detailed operations of editing, compositing, and outputting this mailbox heading data. First, the mail management section 6 sequentially reads out part of the encoded image data of the first page of each mail in a desired mailbox from the file 8 and transfers it to the heading creation section 9. The headline creation unit 9 decodes the transferred encoded image data using a decoder 92 to generate binary data (original image data), and further outputs this to the buffer (for one line) of the all-white recognition circuit 94 via the bus 96. ). The all-white recognition circuit 94 identifies whether the data for one line is all-white or not. If it is all-white, the data for that line is rejected and the next line is recognized in the same procedure. When a line that is not completely white is recognized, the control circuit 90 is notified of this, so the control circuit 90 clears the line counter 91 and then counts up a predetermined number of lines (for example, 100 to 400). At the same time, the binarized data of each line is sequentially transferred to the encoder 93. The encoder 93 sequentially encodes the transferred binary data (original image data) in a manner suitable for the facsimile terminal 2B, and stores the encoded data in the memory 95 via the bus 96. When the control circuit 90 recognizes that the count value of the line counter 91 has reached the predetermined number,
The mail management section 6 is requested to send the encoded image data of the first page of the next mail. In this way, when the encoded image data related to the headings of all desired mails is stored in the memory 95,
The data is transferred to a desired facsimile terminal 2B via the telephone switching network 3 through the mail management section 6 and facsimile procedure control section 5, where it is recorded and output. In this way, the terminal user can edit and synthesize the headings of each email in the mailbox (information that can identify and judge the content of the email, excluding the unnecessary white area at the top of the first page). You can make a comprehensive judgment regarding all emails by obtaining a list of them. Further, when sending an e-mail, there is no need to include a special heading for the recipient, so the complexity of e-mail creation can be eliminated. As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain an overview of all the mails in the mailbox in a list, so that the desired mails can be selected and output with minimum time and effort. The hassle of creating emails can be reduced, and mailboxes and
A remarkable effect can be obtained in improving the serviceability and economic efficiency of the service.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the mailbox heading output method according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the heading creation section of the facsimile storage and forwarding device, and FIG. The communication sequence diagram, FIG. 4, is a conceptual diagram of the same heading output format. 1A, 1B...this telephone set, 2A, 2B...facsimile terminal, 3...telephone switching network, 4...facsimile storage and exchange device, 5...facsimile procedure control unit, 6...
Mail management section, 7... Mail counter, 8... File, 9... Heading creation section, 90... Control circuit, 91...
line counter, 92...decoder, 93...encoder,
94...All-white recognition circuit, 95...Memory, 96...Bus.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A facsimile storage and forwarding device having a mailbox service function has a heading creation unit that edits and combines headings for a desired mailbox under the control of its mail management unit, and a terminal Based on a request from , or based on a detection result that the number of emails in the mailbox has reached a predetermined number, the heading creation section edits a predetermined part that should be the heading of each email in the mailbox. - A mailbox headline output method that is characterized by being able to combine and send the image data to the terminal in question. 2. In what is stated in claim 1,
The heading creation unit decodes the encoded image data for the specified page of each email in the mailbox, recognizes and identifies the predetermined portion that is not completely white, uses it as the heading data, and encodes it again. A mailbox heading output method configured to edit and synthesize heading data for all emails by sequentially storing them.