JP2001211285A - Facsimile communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dispense with correction of a conversion table, even if a telephone number and an electronic mail address are changed, and to deliver a transmitted document without time delay, even when transmission is finished erroneously. SOLUTION: A destination inquiry packet 40, including the telephone numbers 39 of terminals at transmitting destination, is transmitted to the Internet 9 by a facsimile terminal (described as terminal hereafter) A2, the telephone numbers 39 and electronic mail addresses 38 of the terminals received from each terminal in the case of power-on the terminals are prepared as the conversion table 36 by a conversion server 8, the electronic mail addresses 38 corresponding to the telephone numbers 39 are retrieved and transmitted from the conversion table 36, by receiving the destination inquiry packet 40, the electronic mail addresses 38 are received via the Internet 9 by a terminal A2, image information is transmitted to the electronic mail addresses 38, the image information transmitted by the terminal A2 is received and recorded, via a mail server A7 and a mail server B11 by a terminal B13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile communication system, and more particularly to a facsimile communication system for performing facsimile communication by inputting a destination telephone number to a facsimile terminal connected to a public line network and the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, TCP / IP such as Internet / Intranet (hereinafter referred to as Internet) has been proposed.
With the worldwide spread of networks using the IP protocol, an Internet facsimile terminal (Internet facsimile apparatus) for performing facsimile communication on a TCP / IP network has been put to practical use.

In this conventional Internet facsimile terminal, for example, ITU-TT. The 37-procedure has a disadvantage in that the other party must be specified by an e-mail address or the like instead of a telephone number, and an operation different from that of a normal facsimile terminal is required, which complicates the operation. To solve this drawback, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 0-65866 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-164123, when a telephone number is inputted by referring to a conversion table in which telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of Internet facsimile terminals are registered in advance, an e-mail is automatically transmitted. It discloses a method of converting to an address and transmitting it as an Internet facsimile. this house,
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-65866 discloses a conventional G3 / G4 system in which a conversion table is stored in each Internet facsimile terminal and a normal telephone line (public line network) is used at the first Internet facsimile communication. A method is disclosed in which registration data including a telephone number and an e-mail address of the Internet facsimile terminal is embedded in a communication procedure signal so that the telephone number and the e-mail address of the terminal are registered in the terminal. . Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-164123 discloses a method in which a conversion table between a telephone number and an e-mail address is stored in advance on a server such as the Internet, and an Internet facsimile terminal desiring transmission refers to the conversion table before transmission. To disclose the technology.
Then, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos.
The conversion table between the telephone number and the e-mail address used in Japanese Patent No. 164123 is static,
If the communication route (transmission route of the e-mail) to the partner terminal is interrupted due to some kind of communication failure when trying to send it as an e-mail, there is also a problem that it does not reach the partner or delays in reaching the partner. . Regarding this problem, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 10-65886 discloses that when an Internet facsimile transmission ends with an error, the transmission is performed again through a normal telephone line.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional facsimile communication system, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. H10-65866 discloses a conventional facsimile communication system in which a conversion table is provided in each Internet facsimile terminal. If the telephone number or e-mail address of the Internet facsimile terminal changes due to the circumstances of the installation environment, the telephone number or e-mail address is stored in another Internet facsimile terminal that stores the information. Since there is no method of notifying the change, there is a possibility that an image may be transmitted to a different terminal by performing conversion between an incorrect telephone number and an e-mail address in some cases. Further, since a normal telephone line is used for the first time, there is a problem that a telephone charge is required.

[0005] In addition, when a mail transfer error occurs between a mail server directly connected to the terminal of the own station and a mail server directly connected to the terminal, it takes about one day to one week for the error notification to return to the own station. In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-65866, when an Internet facsimile transmission ends with an error, it is necessary to retransmit the data over a normal telephone line. There is a problem that it may take about one week.

Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-164123, since a conversion table between a telephone number and an e-mail address is preliminarily stored on a server such as the Internet, the telephone number or e-mail address of the Internet facsimile terminal is used in the installation environment. There is a problem that the conversion table needs to be corrected by some method when it changes due to circumstances.

[0007] An object of the present invention is to eliminate such a conventional drawback, so that even if the telephone number or e-mail address of the Internet facsimile terminal changes, there is no need to modify the conversion table. A facsimile communication system that can perform conversion between terminals correctly and transmit images to different terminals without any delay, and even when an Internet facsimile transmission ends with an error, there is no time delay from when the error is detected until the transmitted document arrives at the other party. To provide.

[0008]

According to a first facsimile communication system of the present invention, a facsimile terminal of a transmission source connected to a public line network and the Internet is connected to a facsimile terminal of a transmission destination connected to the public line network and the Internet. In a facsimile communication method of performing facsimile communication by inputting a telephone number of a terminal, a facsimile communication method has a conversion table that is a correspondence table between the telephone number and the e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number. A conversion server for converting an e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number is connected to the Internet in advance, and each of the facsimile terminals receives the telephone number of the own facsimile terminal and the electronic mail when the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned on. Register the e-mail address with the conversion server, and The facsimile terminal accesses the conversion server when the telephone number of the destination facsimile terminal is input, obtains the e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number from the conversion server, and performs facsimile communication to this address. Like that.

In the first facsimile communication system of the present invention, each of the facsimile terminals connected to the public line network and the Internet passes a predetermined time after the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned on. Each time the telephone number of the own facsimile terminal and the e-mail address are registered in the conversion server.

[0010] Further, in the first facsimile communication system of the present invention, the conversion server deletes the set of the registered telephone number and the e-mail address after a lapse of a predetermined time after the registration of the set. Like that.

Further, in the first facsimile communication system of the present invention, each of the facsimile terminals connected to the public line network and the Internet, when the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned off, the telephone number of the own facsimile terminal. And the e-mail address are deleted from the conversion server.

A second facsimile communication system according to the present invention comprises:
In a facsimile communication system for performing facsimile communication by inputting a telephone number of a destination facsimile terminal connected to the public line network and the Internet to a source facsimile terminal connected to the public line network and the Internet, When the telephone number of the facsimile terminal is input, a destination inquiry packet including the telephone number for reading a set original, storing image information of the original, and inquiring of an e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number To the Internet, receive the e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number via the Internet as a reply corresponding to the transmission, convert the stored image information into an e-mail format, and send the e-mail address Facsimile terminal A to send to Connected to the Internet, receives the destination inquiry packet transmitted by the facsimile terminal A via the Internet, and replaces the electronic mail address corresponding to the telephone number included in the packet with the telephone number and the electronic mail address. A conversion server that searches the conversion table stored in advance, which is a correspondence table of the above, and transmits the e-mail address to the Internet, and receives the image information in the e-mail format transmitted by the facsimile terminal A and transmits the image information to the Internet. A mail server A, and a mail server B that receives the image information in the electronic mail format via the Internet and sends the image information to the electronic mail address
A facsimile terminal B that receives the image information in the e-mail format sent by the mail server B, stores the image information from the e-mail format back to the format used by the facsimile terminal A, and stores and records the image information; It is provided with.

In a second facsimile communication system according to the present invention, when the telephone number of the destination facsimile terminal is input, the set original is read, and the image information of the original is stored. Sending the destination inquiry packet to the Internet, receiving a reply corresponding to the transmission via the Internet, and when the reply indicates that there is no e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number, the stored image The facsimile terminal A that encodes information and transmits the encoded image information to the public line network addressed to the telephone number, and receives the destination inquiry packet transmitted by the facsimile terminal A via the Internet. Converting the e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number included in the packet into the conversion table When the e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number is retrieved, the retrieved e-mail address is transmitted to the Internet as a reply, and the e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number is retrieved. The conversion server for transmitting a reply to the Internet indicating that there is no e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number when there is no such information, and receiving the encoded image information transmitted by the facsimile terminal A. And the facsimile terminal B which decodes the facsimile data, stores the facsimile data back to the format as stored by the facsimile terminal A, and stores and records the data.

Further, in the second facsimile communication system of the present invention, when the telephone number of the facsimile terminal of the transmission destination is inputted, the set original is read, and the image information of the original is stored. When the destination inquiry packet is transmitted to the Internet and a reply corresponding to the transmission cannot be received even after a predetermined time has elapsed after the transmission of the destination inquiry packet, the stored image information is encoded. The facsimile terminal A that transmits the encoded image information to the public line network to the telephone number, and receives the encoded image information transmitted by the facsimile terminal A, decodes the image information, and decodes the image information. A facsimile terminal B for storing and recording the data in a format stored by the facsimile terminal A. That.

Further, the facsimile terminal A and the facsimile terminal B of the second facsimile communication system of the present invention.
Means that when the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned on, a registration packet including the telephone number and the e-mail address of the own facsimile terminal is transmitted to the Internet, and the conversion server transmits the registration packet to the Internet. The telephone number and the e-mail address included in the registration packet received via the server are stored in the conversion table in association with each other.

Further, the facsimile terminal A and the facsimile terminal B of the second facsimile communication system of the present invention
Means that the registration packet is transmitted every time a predetermined time elapses after the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned on, and the conversion server receives the registration packet from the facsimile terminal A and the facsimile terminal B each time. The correspondence between the telephone number and the e-mail address included in the registration packet is stored in the conversion table.

Further, the conversion server of the second facsimile communication system according to the present invention stores the set of the telephone number and the electronic mail address stored in the conversion table after a lapse of a predetermined time after the storage of the set. I try to delete it.

Further, the facsimile terminal A and the facsimile terminal B of the second facsimile communication system of the present invention
Means that when the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned off, a deregistration packet including the telephone number of the own facsimile terminal is transmitted to the Internet, and it is determined whether there is any unreceived e-mail addressed to the own facsimile terminal. Check with the mail server corresponding to the facsimile terminal, if there is an unreceived e-mail, receive this e-mail from the mail server and turn off the power of the own facsimile terminal after reception, the conversion server sends the deregistration packet The telephone number and the electronic mail address corresponding to the telephone number are deleted from the conversion table from the telephone number received via the Internet and included in the deregistration packet.

[0019]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the facsimile communication system of the present invention.

The present embodiment shown in FIG.
The telephone number 39 of the destination facsimile terminal connected to the public line network 1 and the Internet 9 is input to the transmission source facsimile terminal connected to the public telephone network 1 and the Internet 9 (or an intranet, hereinafter referred to as the Internet 9). In a facsimile communication system for performing facsimile communication, when a telephone number 39 of a destination facsimile terminal is input, a set original is read, image information of the original is stored, and an e-mail address 38 corresponding to the telephone number 39 is entered. A destination inquiry packet 40 including a telephone number 39 for inquiry is transmitted to the Internet 9, an e-mail address 38 corresponding to the telephone number 39 is received via the Internet 9 as a reply corresponding to this transmission, and the stored image information is transmitted. Convert this e-mail address to e-mail format Facsimile terminal A2 for transmission to the Internet 38, and an e-mail address 38 corresponding to a telephone number 39 included in the packet, which is connected to the Internet 9 in advance and receives a destination inquiry packet 40 transmitted by the facsimile terminal A2 via the Internet 9. From a conversion table 36 stored in advance, which is a correspondence table between a telephone number 39 and an e-mail address 38, and a conversion server 8 that transmits the e-mail address 38 to the Internet 9 for transmission to the facsimile terminal A2; A mail server A7 that receives the image information in the e-mail format transmitted from the terminal A2 and transmits the image information to the Internet 9
A mail server B11 that receives image information in the form of e-mail via the Internet 9 and sends the image information to the e-mail address 38; A facsimile terminal B13 that stores and records the e-mail format by returning it to the format stored by the facsimile terminal A2.

When the telephone number 39 of the destination facsimile terminal is input, the facsimile terminal A2 reads the set original, stores the image information of the original, transmits a destination inquiry packet 40 to the Internet 9, When a reply corresponding to the transmission is received via the Internet 9 and the reply indicates that there is no e-mail address 38 corresponding to the telephone number 39, the stored image information is encoded, and the encoded image information is transmitted to the telephone number. The conversion server 8 receives the destination inquiry packet 40 transmitted by the facsimile terminal A2 via the Internet 9 and sends an e-mail address 38 corresponding to the telephone number 39 included in the packet to the public network 39. Is retrieved from the conversion table 36, and the e-mail address 38 corresponding to the telephone number 39 is The e-mail address 38 this that retrieved when it is search and sends it to the Internet 9 as a reply, the e-mail address 38 corresponding to the telephone number 39
Is not found, a reply indicating that there is no e-mail address 38 corresponding to the telephone number 39 is transmitted to the Internet 9, and the facsimile terminal B13 receives the encoded image information transmitted by the facsimile terminal A2. The image information is decoded, stored in the form that the facsimile terminal A2 stored, and stored.

When the telephone number 39 of the destination facsimile terminal is input, the facsimile terminal A2
The set document is read, the image information of the document is stored, a destination inquiry packet 40 is transmitted to the Internet 9, and a reply corresponding to this transmission is transmitted for a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds to 10 seconds) after the transmission of the destination inquiry packet 40. About 1 minute, usually about 30 seconds. In the future, if the Internet speeds up, about 3 to 15 seconds, usually about 5 seconds.) The facsimile terminal B13 receives the encoded image information transmitted by the facsimile terminal A2, decodes the image information, and transmits the encoded image information to the public line network 1 to the telephone number 39. The facsimile terminal A2 stores and records the data in the format in which it was stored.

The facsimile terminal A2 and the facsimile terminal B13 are used to indicate that the facsimile terminal can perform facsimile communication via the Internet 9 when the power of the facsimile terminal is turned on.
A registration packet 41 including the telephone number 39 of the own facsimile terminal and the e-mail address 38 is transmitted to the Internet 9, and the conversion server 8 receives the registration packet 41 via the Internet 9 and transmits the registration packet 41 to the telephone number 39 included in the registration packet 41. The electronic mail address 38 is stored in the conversion table 36 in association with the electronic mail address 38.

The facsimile terminal A2 and the facsimile terminal B13 are registered each time a predetermined time (for example, about 10 seconds to 60 minutes, usually about 30 minutes) elapses after the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned on. Packet 41
And the conversion server 8 stores the telephone number 39 and the e-mail address 38 included in the registration packet 41 in the conversion table 36 in correspondence with each reception of the registration packet 41 from the facsimile terminal A2 and the facsimile terminal B13. Like that.

The conversion server 8 stores the set of the telephone number 39 and the e-mail address 38 stored in the conversion table 36 for a predetermined time (for example, one minute to 120
Minutes, usually about 60 minutes. ) We delete it after passing.

The facsimile terminal A2 and the facsimile terminal B13 communicate with each other to indicate that the facsimile terminal cannot perform facsimile communication via the Internet 9 when the power of the facsimile terminal is turned off. Deregistration packet 4 including telephone number 39
2 to the Internet 9 and confirms with the mail server corresponding to the own facsimile terminal whether there is any unreceived e-mail addressed to the own facsimile terminal. After receiving the mail from the mail server and then turning off the power of the own facsimile terminal, the conversion server 8 receives the deregistration packet 42 via the Internet 9 and obtains the telephone number 39 and this telephone number from the telephone number 39 included in the deregistration packet 42. Number 39
Conversion table 3 with the e-mail address 38 corresponding to
6 is deleted.

FIG. 1 shows a local area network (LAN-A5) and a router A6 for connecting the facsimile terminal A2 and the Internet 9, and a local area network (LAN-A5) for connecting the facsimile terminal B13 and the Internet 9. LAN-B12) and the router B10. The facsimile terminal A2 and the facsimile terminal B13 are connected to the LAN respectively.
-A5 and LAN-B12 with LAN interface (L
(AN-I / F). A mail server A7 and a mail server B11 that perform electronic mail transfer processing are connected to each LAN.
However, these mail servers need not necessarily be on a LAN, but may be anywhere on the network as long as they are always connected and can perform transmission / reception processing of e-mail from each facsimile terminal. Each LAN is connected to the Internet 9 via the router A6 and the router B10.
It is connected to the. The conversion server 8 is always connected to the Internet 9. The facsimile terminal A2 and the facsimile terminal B13 are connected to the public line network 1 via their respective public line interfaces (public line I / F).

Next, the operation of the facsimile communication system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example when the facsimile terminal performs facsimile transmission to the destination facsimile terminal.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation when the power of the facsimile terminal is turned on.
G4 procedure facsimile machine, and ITU-T
This shows processing to be performed in addition to the operation of the facsimile terminal in the 37 steps, and particularly shows that the registration packet 41 is transmitted.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation when the power of the facsimile terminal is turned off.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the facsimile terminal during standby.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the conversion server when receiving a packet.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the conversion server during standby.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the facsimile terminal. The CPU 15 required as the configuration of the facsimile terminal using only the ordinary public line network 1 is shown.
(Main control unit), ROM 1 for defining operation of CPU 15
6. RAM used for storage of work area and temporary information
17. Read the original, convert it to electronic image information, and
An image reading unit 18 for storing the image information stored in the AM 17, an image recording unit 19 for outputting the image information stored in the RAM 17 as an image to a recording sheet, an operation panel 20 for inputting a telephone number 39, etc.
A modem 23 and a network control unit 28 for transmitting a signal to the public line network 1 or receiving a signal from the public line network 1 in a normal G3 or G4.
TU-TT. MH / MR coding method specified in ITU-T T.4. MMR coding method specified in ITU-T T.6. JBIG specified in 85
MH, MR, MMR, JBIG
It includes an encoding unit 24 for converting to a code such as a code, a decoding unit 25 for converting a code received at the time of reception into an image, and a power supply circuit 29 for supplying power necessary for operating these components. Further, as a configuration required as a facsimile terminal using the Internet 9, a LAN (LAN-A
5 or the LAN-B 12). The LAN control unit 27 transmits and receives packets to and from the LAN-B 12), and the MIME processing unit 26 converts code data into an electronic mail format when performing Internet facsimile transmission and reception. Further, in the present invention,
It has a built-in clock 21 that can know the current time, and a power control unit 22 that controls the power supply circuit 29 and can cut off the power supply according to an instruction from the CPU 15. In addition, the ROM 16 performs necessary processing in the present invention, in addition to software necessary for configuring a normal G3 / G4 procedure facsimile apparatus and an Internet facsimile apparatus (for example, ITU-T T.37 procedure). A program (for example, performing the processing shown in FIGS. 2 to 5) is written. Since the built-in clock 21 is necessary to know the elapsed time, it is not always necessary to know the current absolute time. For example, there is a mechanism that can know the elapsed time since the power was turned on. If so, you can substitute it.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of a cooperative operation between the facsimile terminal and the conversion server when the power of the facsimile terminal is turned on and when the facsimile terminal is on standby.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an operation sequence for performing facsimile transmission from the facsimile terminal A to the facsimile terminal B using the Internet.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of the facsimile transmission from the facsimile terminal A to the facsimile terminal B, which is performed by the normal facsimile procedure without the corresponding registration data on the conversion server.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of an operation for facsimile transmission from the facsimile terminal A to the facsimile terminal B when communication with the conversion server cannot be performed.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the operation when the power of the facsimile terminal is turned off.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the conversion server. The conversion server 8 includes a CPU 30 (main control unit) and ROMs 31 and C that regulate the operation of the CPU 30.
RAM 32 used as a work area of PU 30, LA for transmitting / receiving packets to / from Internet 9
N control unit 33; built-in clock 34 for knowing the current time; conversion table 3 for storing correspondence between telephone number 39 and e-mail address 38 and last update time of each data
6 is provided. Since the built-in clock 34 is necessary to know the elapsed time,
It is not always necessary to know the current absolute time. For example, if there is a mechanism capable of knowing the elapsed time since the power was turned on, it can be used instead. In the ROM 31 in the conversion server 8, for example, a program for performing the processing shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is written. Here, the conversion server 8 is configured as a dedicated device.
A personal computer having an N interface may be used.

Referring to FIG. 1, the operation of the facsimile terminal A2 and the facsimile terminal B13 when the power is turned on and in the standby state will be described first with reference to FIG. 3, FIG. 6, and FIG. Here, the operation of the facsimile terminal A2 and the operation of the facsimile terminal B13 are the same, and therefore the description will be made as a facsimile terminal. 9 to 13, the facsimile terminal A2 and the facsimile terminal B13 are abbreviated as terminal A and terminal B, respectively.

When the power of the facsimile terminal is turned on,
Normal G3 / G4 facsimile machine and ITU-T for converting image information into e-mail and transmitting it
T. CPU performed by facsimile terminal as in 37 procedures
15, RAM 17, image reading unit 18, image recording unit 19,
Display unit, modem 23, network control unit 28, LAN control unit 27
Normal initialization (S301) for initializing the terminal and the like is performed, and after the completion, the terminal transmits a registration packet 41 indicating that Internet facsimile communication is enabled (S30).
2. Perform S901). The registration packet 41 includes information of “type of packet”, “own terminal telephone number 39”, and “own terminal electronic mail address 38”. For example, “registration, 1234-5678, foo@abc.co.j”
p ". Of course, ITU-
TT. 37 Email address 38 to follow the procedure
In the case of a terminal that performs Internet facsimile communication with the partner terminal without using the address, address information specifying the own terminal instead of or in addition to the “own terminal e-mail address 38” (For example, an IP address). When the conversion server 8 receives the registration packet 41 (S902), the conversion server 8 checks the type of the received packet (S601),
In this case, since the packet is the registration packet 41, the corresponding data is stored in the conversion table 3 in the auxiliary storage device 35 of the conversion server 8.
6 are registered in the order of "telephone number 39", "e-mail address 38", and "current time read from built-in clock 34".
For example, in the above “Registration, 1234-5678, foo @ a
bc. co. When the registration packet 41 “jp” is received, the registration is performed in the conversion table 36 as shown in (a) (S602, S903). At the time of registration, if data of the same telephone number 39 already exists in the conversion table 36, this is updated. Although not shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, after the registration is completed, a packet indicating the completion of the registration (registration completion packet) may be sent from the conversion server 8 to the facsimile terminal as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 9 ( S904, S905). If the facsimile terminal cannot receive the registration completion packet, the facsimile terminal can take measures such as retransmitting the registration packet 41 assuming that the registration has failed, and can perform the registration more reliably. Thereafter, the facsimile terminal acquires the current time from the built-in clock 21 and records this in the internal RAM 17 (S3).
03). By the above procedure, the turned on facsimile terminal has its telephone number 39 and e-mail address 3
8 is registered in the conversion server 8. Next, the operation during standby will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 7, the conversion server 8 reads the contents of the conversion table 36 one by one (S701), and compares the last update time with the current time indicated by the internal clock 34 (S7).
02) For example, when 60 minutes or more have elapsed, the process of deleting the data is always performed (S703).
On the other hand, when the facsimile terminal stands by, the facsimile apparatus of the normal G3 / G4 procedure and, for example, the ITU
-TT. In addition to the standby process (for example, an inquiry to a mail server about the presence or absence of a received e-mail) performed by a facsimile terminal that converts image information into an e-mail format and transmits the e-mail format, the processing shown in FIG. It is carried out.
That is, during standby, the current time is obtained from the built-in clock 21 to calculate the elapsed time (S501), and the procedure (S303).
(Or a time recorded in a procedure (S504) described later) (S502). As a result of the comparison, if the elapsed time is, for example, less than 30 minutes, nothing is performed and the standby process ends.
If the elapsed time is 30 minutes or more, the procedure (S302, S302)
Transmission of the registration packet 41 (S50) as in (303)
3) Recording the current time acquired from the built-in clock 21 (S5)
04) to end the standby processing.

Next, referring to FIGS. 2, 6 and 10, facsimile terminal A2 to facsimile terminal B13
In the following description, a description will be given of a case where a facsimile transmission sequence is converted into an Internet facsimile and transmitted. It is assumed that the facsimile terminal B13 on the receiving side has already registered its telephone number 39 and e-mail address 38 in the conversion server 8 when the power is turned on.
In the facsimile terminal A2, the telephone number 39 of the facsimile terminal B13 is inputted from the operation panel 20 (S
201), the image reading section 18 reads the image information of the document into the RAM 17 (S202). The facsimile terminal A2 transmits a destination inquiry packet 40 to the conversion server 8 on the Internet 9 (S20).
3, S1001). This destination inquiry packet 40
Contains information of “type of packet” and “telephone number 39 of the other party”. For example, “inquiry, 2345-6”
789 ". The conversion server 8 receives the destination inquiry packet 40 (S1002).
Then, the type of the packet is discriminated (S601), the data having the same telephone number 39 is searched from the conversion table 36 (S604), and if there is such data, the searched e-mail address 38 is sent to the facsimile terminal A2. A reply is sent (S1003, S607). Facsimile terminal A2
Receives the destination e-mail address 38 (S204,
After S1004), it is confirmed that the destination electronic mail address 38 is present (S205), and a normal Internet facsimile procedure (for example, ITU-T T.37 procedure) is performed.
The image information of the document stored in the RAM 17 by the encoding unit 2
4, the encoding is converted into an e-mail format by the MIME processing unit 26, and the nearest mail server A is transmitted via the LAN control unit 27.
E-mail transmission as an e-mail addressed to the destination e-mail address 38 received at 7 (S206, S1005)
To end the transmission process. The image information transmitted to the mail server A7 is relayed between mail servers on the Internet 9 (S1006), and the mail server B closest to the other party is sent.
11 and sends it to the LAN of the facsimile terminal B13.
The control unit 27 receives the message, decodes the format of the e-mail in the MIME processing unit 26, returns the image information to the image information in the decoding unit 25, and
The facsimile communication is completed by storing it in the AM 17 and recording it on a recording paper or the like by the image recording unit 19.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 2, 6, and 11, the conversion server 8 in the facsimile transmission sequence from the facsimile terminal A2 to the facsimile terminal B13 will be described.
A case in which there is no corresponding registration data and transmission is performed by a normal facsimile procedure will be described. This is the L of the partner terminal
This corresponds to a case where the partner terminal is not registered in the conversion server 8 due to an abnormality of the AN or the like, or a case where the partner terminal is a normal facsimile apparatus (having only the G3 / G4 procedure for connecting to the public line network 1). . This is the case described above, "Converting to Internet facsimile and sending"
As described above, in the facsimile terminal A2, when the telephone number 39 of the facsimile terminal B13 is input from the operation panel 20 (S201), the image reading unit 18
Thereby, the image information of the document is read into the RAM 17 (S202). The facsimile terminal A2 transmits the destination inquiry packet 40 to the conversion server 8 on the Internet 9 (S203, S1101). The conversion server 8 receives the destination inquiry packet 40 (S110).
2) Then, the type of the packet is discriminated (S601), and data having the same telephone number 39 is searched from the conversion table 36 (S604). In this case, there is no corresponding data, so that there is no corresponding data. Is returned to the facsimile terminal A2 (S1103, S60
6). The facsimile terminal A2 receives this reply (S2
04, S1104) and confirm this reply (S205)
However, since this reply indicates that there is no corresponding data, the image information of the document stored in the RAM 17 is encoded by the encoding unit 24, and is transmitted via the modem 23, the network control unit 28, and the public line network 1. A facsimile transmission process is performed to the facsimile terminal B13 using a normal facsimile procedure (for example, G3 / G4 procedure) (S207, S1105 to S1107).

Next, with reference to FIGS. 2, 6, and 12, the conversion server 8 in the facsimile transmission sequence from the facsimile terminal A2 to the facsimile terminal B13 will be described.
A case in which communication with the server cannot be performed will be described. This is similar to the case described in the above-mentioned “when converted to Internet facsimile and transmitted”, the facsimile terminal A2
, The facsimile terminal B13
Is input (S201), the image reading section 18 reads the image information of the document into the RAM 17 (S202). The facsimile terminal A2 transmits a destination inquiry packet 40 to the conversion server 8 on the Internet 9 (S203, S1201). The conversion server 8 receives the destination inquiry packet 40 (S1).
202) Then, the type of the packet is determined (S601).
Then, the conversion table 36 is searched for data having the same telephone number 39 (S604). If there is such data, the destination e-mail address 38 is returned to the facsimile terminal A2 (S1203, S607). At this time, the returned destination e-mail address 38 is lost without reaching the facsimile terminal A2 due to a communication error (S120).
4) Or, although not shown, if the destination inquiry packet 40 does not reach the conversion server 8 due to a communication error, the facsimile terminal A2 is waiting for the reception of the destination e-mail address 38 (S1205) but cannot receive it. , A timeout (S208, S1206) occurs, and a normal facsimile procedure (for example, G3 / G4 procedure) is used in the same manner as in the above-mentioned "case where there is no corresponding registration data on the conversion server 8 and transmission is performed by a normal facsimile procedure". To perform a fax transmission process (S207, S12).
07 to S1209).

Next, with reference to FIGS. 4, 6, and 13, an operation when the power of the facsimile terminal A2 and the power of the facsimile terminal B13 are turned off will be described. Here, the operation of the facsimile terminal A2 and the operation of the facsimile terminal B13 are the same, and therefore the description will be made as a facsimile terminal.
In the facsimile terminal, when an operation to instruct power-off is performed from the operation panel 20, the transmission of the registration deletion packet 42 to the conversion server 8 indicating that the terminal cannot perform Internet facsimile communication (S 401,
S1301) is performed. This deregistration packet 42
It contains information of "type of packet" and "own terminal telephone number 39", and for example, "deletion of registration, 1234-5678"
The format is as follows. When the conversion server 8 receives the deregistration packet 42 (S1302), the conversion server 8 confirms the type of the received packet (S601). In this case, since the deregistration packet 42 is used, the conversion server 8 The conversion table 36 in the storage device 35 is searched and deleted. For example, “Deregistration, 1234-5678, foo@abc.co.j
When the registration packet 41 "p" is received, the data shown in (a) in the conversion table 36 is searched and deleted (S603, S1303). Although not shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6, after the deletion is completed, a packet indicating the completion of the deletion (deletion completed packet) may be sent from the conversion server 8 to the facsimile terminal as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 13 ( S1304, S1305). If the facsimile terminal cannot receive the deletion completion packet, the facsimile terminal can take measures such as resending the registration deletion packet 42 again as a failure of the deletion, and more surely delete its own data from the conversion server 8. Can be. Next, the facsimile terminal checks with the corresponding mail server whether there is any e-mail addressed to the terminal itself that has not been received (S1306, S402). Reception (S1307, S4
03), and the power supply circuit 2
Then, a process of turning off the power of the terminal itself by sending a power off signal to the terminal 9 (S1308, S404) is performed, and the process ends. For some reason, the registration deletion packet 42
If the power is turned off without sending (for example, a power failure or the like), the data on the conversion server 8 is replaced with the auxiliary data 60 minutes after the reception of the last registration packet 41 by the procedure shown in FIG. It is deleted from the conversion table 36 in the storage device 35.

In the above description, the criterion for determining the elapsed time (x minutes) in FIG. 5 is 30 minutes, and the criterion for determining the elapsed time in FIG.
Minutes) is set to 60 minutes, but it is necessary that x <y. By shortening these times, the conversion process between the telephone number 39 and the e-mail address 38 can be performed with higher accuracy. Here, “higher accuracy” means that the probability of Internet facsimile transmission to a facsimile terminal in a state where Internet facsimile reception is not possible is reduced. In the case of transmitting the registration completion packet shown in (S904, S905) in FIG. 9, x and y may be close values. When not transmitting the registration completion packet, the registration packet 41
Considering the loss of the registration completion packet and the like, it is preferable that the values of x and y are set to values somewhat apart (for example, 5x <y).

[0050]

As described above, according to the facsimile communication system of the present invention, a destination facsimile terminal connected to the public line network and the Internet is connected to a facsimile terminal connected to the public line network and the Internet. In a facsimile communication system in which facsimile communication is performed by inputting a telephone number, a conversion table is provided which is a correspondence table between a telephone number and an e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number. A conversion server that converts to the corresponding e-mail address is connected to the Internet in advance, and each facsimile terminal registers its telephone number and e-mail address in the conversion server when its own facsimile terminal is turned on. The source facsimile terminal sends the destination facsimile When the telephone number of the terminal is input, the conversion server is accessed, an e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number is obtained from the conversion server, and facsimile communication is performed to this address. Since the telephone number and e-mail address of the own facsimile terminal are registered in the conversion server,
Even if the telephone number or e-mail address of the facsimile terminal changes, there is no need to modify the conversion table, and the conversion between the telephone number and the e-mail address can be performed correctly and there is no danger of transmitting images to different terminals.

Further, when the transmission source facsimile terminal obtains the electronic mail address corresponding to the telephone number of the transmission destination facsimile terminal from the conversion server connected to the Internet, this e-mail address is passed even after a predetermined time has elapsed. If the call cannot be received, facsimile communication is performed to this telephone number using a normal telephone line (public line network). There is no time delay.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a facsimile communication system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an example when a facsimile terminal performs facsimile transmission to a destination facsimile terminal.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation performed when the power of the facsimile terminal is turned on.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation when the power of the facsimile terminal is turned off.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the facsimile terminal during standby;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the conversion server when receiving a packet.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the conversion server during standby;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a facsimile terminal.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of a cooperative operation between the facsimile terminal and the conversion server when the power of the facsimile terminal is turned on and when the facsimile terminal is on standby.

FIG. 10 shows facsimile terminal A to facsimile terminal B
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of an operation of performing facsimile transmission using the Internet.

FIG. 11 shows facsimile terminal A to facsimile terminal B
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence of an operation for facsimile transmission in which there is no corresponding registration data on the conversion server and transmission is performed by a normal facsimile procedure.

FIG. 12 shows a facsimile terminal A to a facsimile terminal B
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a sequence when the communication with the conversion server cannot be performed in the sequence of the operation for facsimile transmission to the user.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation when the power of the facsimile terminal is turned off.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a conversion server.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Public line network 2 Facsimile terminal A 5 LAN-A 6 Router A 7 Mail server A 8 Conversion server 9 Internet 10 Router B 11 Mail server B 12 LAN-B 13 Facsimile terminal B 15 CPU 16 ROM 17 RAM 18 Image reading unit 19 Image recording unit 20 Operation panel 21 Built-in clock 22 Power control unit 23 Modem 24 Encoding unit 25 Decoding unit 26 MIME processing unit 27 LAN control unit 28 Network control unit 29 Power supply circuit 30 CPU 31 ROM 32 RAM 33 LAN control unit 34 Built-in clock 35 Auxiliary storage device 36 Conversion table 38 E-mail address 39 Telephone number 40 Destination inquiry packet 41 Registration packet 42 Deregistration packet

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H04N 1/32 9A001 F term (Reference) 5B089 GA11 GA26 GB03 HA10 JA05 KA12 KC29 KC51 KH03 KH04 LA19 MB03 5C062 AA02 AA13 AA29 AA30 AB38 AB42 AB44 AB51 AC22 AC23 AC34 AF03 5C075 AB90 BA05 CA15 5K030 HA07 HC01 JT05 KA05 LB02 LB16 LC18 5K101 KK01 KK02 LL01 LL05 RR11 RR27 UU19 9A001 BB04 BB06 CC02 CC08 HH23 JJ12 JJ14 JJ14 JJ14

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile communication system for performing facsimile communication by inputting a telephone number of a destination facsimile terminal connected to the public line network and the Internet to a source facsimile terminal connected to the public line network and the Internet. A conversion server which has a conversion table which is a correspondence table between the telephone number and the electronic mail address corresponding to the telephone number, and converts the telephone number into an electronic mail address corresponding to the telephone number by using the conversion table. Connected to the Internet in advance, each of the facsimile terminals, when the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned on, registers the telephone number and the e-mail address of the own facsimile terminal in the conversion server, and The facsimile terminal is located in front of the destination facsimile terminal. Facsimile communication system, wherein said accessing the conversion server that has obtained the electronic mail address corresponding to the telephone number from the conversion server to the facsimile communication to the address when a telephone number is entered. 2. Each of the facsimile terminals connected to the public line network and the Internet, the telephone number of the own facsimile terminal and the telephone number each time a predetermined time elapses after the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned on. 2. The facsimile communication method according to claim 1, wherein an e-mail address is registered in said conversion server. 3. The server according to claim 1, wherein the conversion server deletes the pair of the registered telephone number and the e-mail address after a lapse of a predetermined time after the registration of the pair. Or the facsimile communication method according to 2. 4. The facsimile terminal connected to the public line network and the Internet, when the power of the facsimile terminal is turned off, the telephone number and the e-mail address of the facsimile terminal are transmitted from the conversion server. 4. A facsimile communication system according to claim 1, wherein said facsimile communication system is deleted. 5. A facsimile communication system for performing facsimile communication by inputting a telephone number of a destination facsimile terminal connected to the public line network and the Internet to a source facsimile terminal connected to the public line network and the Internet. In the above, when the telephone number of the destination facsimile terminal is input, the set original is read, the image information of the original is stored, and the telephone number for inquiring an e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number is entered. A destination inquiry packet including the destination is transmitted to the Internet, the e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number is received via the Internet as a reply corresponding to the transmission, and the stored image information is converted into an e-mail format. Facsimile to send to the above e-mail address A, and the e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number included in the packet is received via the Internet, and the destination inquiry packet transmitted by the facsimile terminal A is connected to the Internet in advance. A conversion server that searches a conversion table stored in advance, which is a correspondence table with the e-mail address, transmits the e-mail address to the Internet, and receives the image information in the e-mail format transmitted by the facsimile terminal A. A mail server A for transmitting to the Internet, a mail server B for receiving the image information in the e-mail format via the Internet, and transmitting the image information to the e-mail address; Receiving the image information in email format Facsimile communication method of the image information from the e-mail format, comprising the a facsimile terminal B which is recorded stored back to form when the facsimile terminal A has stored. 6. When the telephone number of the destination facsimile terminal is input, the set original is read, the image information of the original is stored, the destination inquiry packet is transmitted to the Internet, and the transmission is performed. Receiving the reply corresponding to the telephone number via the Internet, and when the reply indicates that there is no e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number, encoding the stored image information and encoding the encoded image information. The facsimile terminal A transmitting the address to the telephone line to the public line network; and receiving the destination inquiry packet transmitted by the facsimile terminal A via the Internet, and responding to the telephone number included in the packet. An electronic mail address is searched from the conversion table, and the electronic mail address corresponding to the telephone number is When the e-mail address is searched, the searched e-mail address is sent as a reply to the Internet, and when the e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number is not searched, the e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number is sent. The conversion server transmitting a reply indicating that there is no mail address to the Internet; and receiving the encoded image information transmitted by the facsimile terminal A, decoding the image information, and storing the image information in the facsimile terminal A. The facsimile communication system according to claim 5, further comprising: a facsimile terminal (B) for storing and recording the data in the format of (1). 7. When the telephone number of the destination facsimile terminal is input, the set original is read, the image information of the original is stored, and the destination inquiry packet is transmitted to the Internet. When a reply corresponding to the transmission cannot be received even after a predetermined time elapses after the transmission of the destination inquiry packet, the stored image information is encoded, and the encoded image information is transmitted to the telephone number. The facsimile terminal A for transmitting to the public line network to the public network, receiving the encoded image information transmitted by the facsimile terminal A, decoding the image information, and returning the image information to the format when the facsimile terminal A stores the image information. 7. The facsimile communication according to claim 5, further comprising: a facsimile terminal B for storing, recording, and recording. Formula. 8. The facsimile terminal A and the facsimile terminal B transmit a registration packet including the telephone number of the own facsimile terminal and the e-mail address to the Internet when the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned on. The conversion server receives the registration packet via the Internet and stores the telephone number and the e-mail address included in the registration packet in the conversion table in association with each other. The facsimile communication method according to claim 5, 6, or 7. 9. The facsimile terminal A and the facsimile terminal B transmit the registration packet each time a predetermined time elapses after the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned on. Each time the registration packet is received from A and the facsimile terminal B, the telephone number and the e-mail address included in the registration packet are stored in the conversion table in association with each other. 8. The facsimile communication system according to 8. 10. The conversion server according to claim 1, wherein the set of the telephone number and the e-mail address stored in the conversion table is deleted after a predetermined time elapses after the storage of the set. The facsimile communication method according to claim 8. 11. The facsimile terminal A and the facsimile terminal B transmit a deregistration packet including the telephone number of the own facsimile terminal to the Internet when the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned off. Check with the mail server corresponding to your facsimile terminal whether there is any unreceived e-mail,
When there is an unreceived e-mail, the e-mail is received from the mail server and the power of the own facsimile terminal is turned off after receiving the e-mail.The conversion server receives the deregistration packet via the Internet, and 10. The system according to claim 8, wherein said telephone number and said e-mail address corresponding to said telephone number are deleted from said conversion table from said telephone number included.
0 facsimile communication system.