JP2002185693A - Internet facsimile equipment and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide Internet facsimile equipment and a communication control method capable of processing documents by validly utilizing priority designated to the documents. SOLUTION: Internet facsimile equipment 205 designates priority to documents to be Internet facsimile-communicated through an Internet 206 or to be facsimile- communicated through a PSTN 207, and when a plurality of documents waiting for the processing of the Internet facsimile equipment 205 are present, the priority among them is compared, and the documents are transmitted, printed, and transferred in the order of priority.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an Internet facsimile apparatus and a control method therefor, and more particularly to an Internet facsimile apparatus and a communication control method for performing processing using a priority set in a communication document.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, Local Area Network
Internet facsimile having a function of exchanging data on an ork (hereinafter referred to as a LAN) and the Internet and a function of transmitting and receiving a normal facsimile message via a public switched telephone network (hereinafter referred to as a PSTN). The device is in practical use.

[0003] Using such an Internet facsimile apparatus, image information can be exchanged between remote locations on the Internet, so that communication costs can be greatly reduced.

[0004] Here, Internet facsimile communication means that a normal facsimile message is converted into an electronic mail format and transmitted. Similar to electronic mail, a document transmitted by Internet facsimile communication is accompanied by header information and the like. ing. Priori in the header information
ty header is included. This Priority header was originally used to specify the processing priority at the e-mail delivery server, but is now used as an index to indicate the urgency and importance to e-mail recipients Is increasing.

[0005]

However, the Internet facsimile apparatus does not use the Priority header for processing, but basically discards the Priority header. In normal facsimile communication,
Since there is no means for designating the priority itself, the Internet facsimile machine cannot perform processing using the priority.

Therefore, the present invention utilizes a priority header information which is discarded in an Internet facsimile apparatus, and designates a priority level by using an F code or the like in normal facsimile communication to perform processing in accordance with the priority level. It is an object of the present invention to provide an Internet facsimile apparatus and a communication control method capable of performing the communication.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an Internet facsimile apparatus connected to the Internet and connected to a public switched telephone network. Priority extracting means for extracting the priority added to each of the documents transmitted and received via the network, and processing means for executing processing on the document based on the priority extracted by the priority extracting means. Features.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when there are a plurality of documents waiting to be processed, the processing means compares the priorities respectively added to the plurality of documents, The processing is performed on the plurality of documents in descending order of the priority based on the comparison.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the processing means requires the same processing when performing processing on a document, and has a higher priority than the document. If there is a document, the process for the currently processed document is temporarily stopped, the process for the high-priority document is performed first, and after the process for the high-priority document is completed, the process for the paused document is performed. The process is restarted.

[0010] The invention of claim 4 is the first to third aspects of the present invention.
In any one of the inventions, the processing means includes a facsimile transmission process of transmitting a document by facsimile, an internet facsimile transmission process of converting a document received by facsimile into an e-mail format, and transmitting the received document by facsimile or e-mail. And printing the document.

[0011] Further, the invention of claim 5 is based on claims 1 to 4.
One of the inventions is characterized by further comprising setting means for setting whether or not to execute the processing according to the priority.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the printing of the document is not possible, the priority of the document is higher than a predetermined priority when the document cannot be printed. In this case, the apparatus further comprises a transfer unit for transferring the document to another device set in advance.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises setting means for setting whether or not to perform the transfer by the transfer means and setting the predetermined priority.

The invention of claim 8 is the invention of claim 1, further comprising setting means for setting the priority of the document received by facsimile via the public switched telephone network from the transmission side. I do.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling an Internet facsimile apparatus connected to the Internet and to a public switched telephone network. Extract the priority assigned to each,
The process for the document is executed based on the extracted priority.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect of the invention, when there are a plurality of documents waiting to be processed, the priorities added to the plurality of documents are compared, and based on the comparison, The processing is performed on the plurality of documents in descending order of the writing priority.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect of the present invention, when processing is performed on a document, the same processing is required and a document having a higher priority than the document exists Suspending the processing for the document being processed,
The process for the high-priority document is performed first, and after the process for the high-priority document ends, the process for the paused document is restarted.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the ninth to eleventh aspects, the processing includes facsimile transmission processing of transmitting a document by facsimile, and conversion of a document received by facsimile into an electronic mail format. And at least one of an Internet facsimile transmission process of transmitting a document and a printing process of a document received by facsimile or electronic mail.

A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in any one of the ninth to twelfth aspects, it is set whether or not to execute a process according to the priority.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the ninth aspect of the present invention, when printing the document, if the document cannot be printed, the priority of the document is higher than a predetermined priority. In this case, the document is transferred to another device set in advance.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the fourteenth aspect, whether or not to perform the transfer and the predetermined priority are set.

The invention of claim 16 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 9, the priority for the document received by facsimile is set via the public switched telephone network from the transmission side.

Here, according to the communication control method of the Internet facsimile apparatus of the present invention, the F code or DTM set in the option signal used for facsimile communication is used.
A priority is assigned to the F signal and transmitted.

In the communication control method for an Internet facsimile apparatus according to the present invention, the priority is designated to the Priority of a header representing communication management information of an electronic mail or a unique header having an equivalent function, and transmitted.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an Internet facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the Internet facsimile apparatus has a CPU 10 for controlling the entire apparatus.
1. storage device 102 used for a device control program, operation display device 10 used by a user to operate the device
3. a reading device 104 for reading a transmission original, a printing device 105 for printing a received image or the like on recording paper, an image processing device 106 for encoding, decoding, enlarging, reducing, etc. the image,
An image storage device 107 for storing received or transmitted images,
A system control unit 108 having a program (ROM) for controlling the entire Internet facsimile, a communication control unit 109 for controlling communication suitable for a telephone network, a network control unit 110 for controlling communication connected to a network, A network controller 111 for connection, a modem 112 as a modem having low-speed mode and high-speed mode functions, and an Ethernet for connection to Ethernet.
The system includes a rnet I / F 113, a system bus 114 for exchanging data with each other, and a line switching control device 115 for switching and connecting a plurality of external line interfaces and a plurality of internal communication circuits.

Of the above components, the CPU 101 to the network control device 111 and the line switching control device 115 are connected via the system bus 114 to exchange data with each other. Further, it has a modem 12 for receiving data from a facsimile and an Ethernet I / F 113.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication system including the Internet facsimile apparatus 205 according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the communication system including the Internet facsimile apparatus 205 is a LAN 20
1, a router 202, a mail server 203 connected as a network terminal to the LAN 201, PCs (personal computers) a204a, PCb204b, and an Internet facsimile apparatus 205.

The mail server 203 has a POP (Post Off) for the PCa 204a, PCb 204b, and Internet facsimile 205 of each network terminal.
As a server (ice protocol), the server distributes an e-mail addressed to the network terminal received and stored in response to a request from each network terminal, and relays the e-mail transmitted from the network terminal to a destination.

The LAN 201 is connected to the Internet 206 via a router 202, and various data can be exchanged between host devices connected to another LAN or the like.

This Internet facsimile machine 20
5 is connected to the PSTN 207 and can transmit and receive normal facsimile messages to and from another normal facsimile apparatus a 208a or b 208b.

The processing performed by the Internet facsimile apparatus is facsimile transmission, e-mail transmission, printing of a received facsimile message, and printing of a received e-mail. Further, the Internet facsimile apparatus can also convert received facsimile messages into e-mails and transfer them, or convert received e-mails into facsimile messages and transfer them.

However, since the Internet facsimile machine cannot process a plurality of documents at the same time, the number of documents waiting to be processed increases, and important documents that need to be processed immediately must be processed in order. have to wait.

Therefore, when there are a plurality of documents to be processed, the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the present invention can perform the processing according to the priority specified in the documents.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a processing procedure based on priority when a plurality of documents are waiting to be processed in the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

In the Internet facsimile apparatus of FIG. 3, three documents A, B, and C are waiting to be processed. Document A is waiting for printing by facsimile reception, and the priority is set to 3. Document B is waiting to be printed by receiving an e-mail, and the priority is set to 5. Document C is waiting for facsimile transmission,
No priority is set. In addition, the priority is divided into five levels of 1 to 5, priority 1 is the lowest priority, and the priority increases as the level increases one step, and priority 5 is the highest priority.

Since the setting of the priority processing of the Internet facsimile apparatus is valid, the priorities of the documents A, B, and C which are in the processing waiting state are compared. The document B (priority 5)> the document A (priority 3)> document C (no priority). However, when the priority of the document C is not set, the priority is lower than the priority 1.

The Internet facsimile apparatus has the highest priority (the order of the document B, the document A, and the document C).
Perform processing.

Here, a processing procedure when a new document processing request is received by the Internet facsimile apparatus during document processing performed by the CPU 101 of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

When a new document processing request is received, it is checked whether or not there is a preceding document being processed in the Internet facsimile machine (step 401). If there is no preceding document being processed (NO in step 401), the new document is processed (step 406), and the processing procedure ends.

If there is a preceding document being processed (YES in step 401), it is checked whether the setting of the priority processing of the Internet facsimile apparatus is valid (step 402). If the setting of the priority processing degree is invalid (NO in step 402), the processing of the preceding document is continued as it is (step 405), and when the processing of the preceding document is completed, the new document is processed (step 4).
06), the processing procedure ends.

If the priority processing setting is valid (YES in step 402), the priority of the new document is compared with the priority of the preceding document (step 403). If the priority of the preceding document is higher (YES in step 404),
The processing of the preceding document is continued (step 405), and when the processing of the preceding document ends, the new document is processed (step 406), and the processing procedure ends.

If the priority of the new document is higher (NO in step 404), the processing of the preceding document is temporarily stopped (step 407), and the new document is processed (step 408).
When the processing of the new document is completed, the processing of the temporarily stopped preceding document is resumed (step 409), and the processing procedure ends.

Here, it is possible to set whether or not to enable the processing according to the priority in the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a function setting screen displayed on the operation display device 103 of the Internet facsimile apparatus shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, various functions of the Internet facsimile apparatus can be input on this setting screen, and whether or not the processing according to the priority can be enabled can also be input.

In this configuration example, the priority processing display section is highlighted, so that the priority processing function is valid. If you want to disable the priority processing function,
When the priority processing display section is pressed, the highlight display is not displayed, indicating that the priority processing function has been disabled.

The Internet facsimile apparatus according to the present invention, when performing facsimile transmission or Internet facsimile transmission, can input a destination of a document, etc., and also specify the priority of the document.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a setting screen for setting priorities.

As shown in FIG. 6, the setting of the priority 3 is input to a document transmitted to the destination of the Internet facsimile of the Shibuya branch. The priority is divided into five levels from 1 to 5. When HIGH is pressed, the priority increases by one level, and L
Pressing OW lowers the priority by one step.

In the configuration example, when the display of the priority is set to 3 and the start button is pressed, the document is transmitted by Internet facsimile to the address of the Shibuya branch, and the priority of this document is set to 3.

Here, if the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the present invention becomes unprintable for some reason, the Internet facsimile apparatus transmits to a preset Internet facsimile apparatus on the LAN in accordance with the priority of the received document. It can be transferred and printed, and this processing procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

The Internet facsimile machine receives a document (step 701). However, the Internet facsimile machine cannot print a document for some reason (step 702), so it is confirmed whether or not the setting of the transfer function of the internet facsimile machine is valid (step 703). When the setting of the transfer function is invalid (N in step 703)
O), and wait until the document can be printed (step 70)
8), end the processing procedure.

If the setting of the transfer function is valid (YES in step 703), the priority of the document is compared with the priority preset in the Internet facsimile apparatus (step 704), and the priority of the Internet facsimile apparatus is compared. If the degree is higher (N in step 705)
O), and wait until the document can be printed (step 70)
8), end the processing procedure.

If the priority of the document is higher (step 7)
05, YES), the document is transferred to a printable Internet facsimile device on the LAN that has been set in advance (Step 706), and the transferred Internet facsimile device prints the document (Step 707) and ends the processing procedure. .

Here, it is possible to set whether or not to enable the transfer processing according to the priority in the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the present invention. When the priority transfer display section of the function setting screen shown in FIG. 5 is pressed, a setting screen of the priority transfer function is displayed.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a setting screen in which the priority transfer function is set to be valid.

As shown in FIG. 8, the priority display function is enabled because the validity display section of the priority transfer function is highlighted. When the priority transfer function is set to be valid, a screen for setting the priority of the transferable document is displayed.

Here, the setting of the priority transfer function and the priority of the transferable document are recorded in the system control unit 108 shown in FIG.

For example, in the configuration example shown in FIG. 8, the priority is set to 3, so that the priority of the received document is 3,
If it is 4 or 5, it is transferred to another device. If it is not the priority 1 or 2, and it is not set, it is not transferred to another device, and it waits until the Internet facsimile device returns to the printable state.

By setting this priority in advance, instead of transferring all the received documents to another device, a document whose priority is higher than the set priority is transferred to another device and printed immediately. For documents whose priority is lower than the set priority, it is possible to print important documents faster by waiting until the apparatus returns to the printable state.

Further, a device to be transferred by the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the present invention can be set in advance. When the next page display section of the setting screen for setting the priority of the priority transfer function shown in FIG. 8 is pressed, a setting screen for setting the transfer device of the priority transfer function is displayed.

FIG. 9 is a view showing an example of the configuration of a setting screen for setting the transfer device of the priority transfer function.

As shown in FIG. 9, the Internet facsimile apparatus connected on the LAN is displayed. When the display of the apparatus which may be transferred is pressed, the display section is highlighted. For example, in the configuration example shown in FIG.
Since the display portions of the A device and the IFAX-C device are highlighted, the IFAX-A device and the IFAX-C device are set as the transfer devices. Conversely, when setting to a device that does not transfer data, pressing the display unit that is highlighted indicates that the display is not highlighted, and that the device is set to not transfer data. In the configuration example shown in FIG.
This means that the XB device has not been set as the transfer device.

Here, the setting of the transfer device of the priority transfer function is recorded in the system control unit 108 shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a configuration screen on which the priority transfer function is set to be invalid.

In the configuration example shown in FIG. 10, the priority transfer function is disabled because the invalid display section of the priority transfer function is highlighted. Since the setting screen of the priority of the document to be transferred and the transfer device is not displayed, the priority and the transfer device cannot be set.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a confirmation screen of the priority transfer function.

When the priority transfer function is enabled,
By looking at the confirmation screen of the priority transfer function, the priority and the setting status of the transfer device can be confirmed. In the configuration example shown in FIG. 11, the priority is set to 3 and the transfer device
It can be confirmed that AX-A and IFAX-C are set.

Here, in the case of sending an e-mail, the priority is set using the priority of the header of the e-mail, and in the case of sending a facsimile message, an F-code or D-code is set.
By setting the priority using a TMF signal or the like, the priority of the transmitted / received document can be specified.

[0073]

As described above, according to the present invention, priorities are specified for facsimile communication and Internet facsimile communication documents, and processing is performed according to the priorities, so that important documents can be transmitted immediately. In addition, printing and transferring can be performed, and there is an effect that the convenience of the Internet facsimile apparatus is increased.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a system configuration of an Internet facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a communication system including an Internet facsimile apparatus 205 according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a processing procedure based on priority when a plurality of documents are waiting to be processed in the Internet facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a processing procedure when a new document processing request is input to the Internet facsimile apparatus during document processing.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a function setting screen displayed on the operation display device of the Internet facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a setting screen for setting a priority displayed on the operation display device of the Internet facsimile machine.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure for transferring a received document to another Internet facsimile device on a LAN and printing the document when an unprintable Internet facsimile device receives a document.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a setting screen in which a priority transfer function is set to be valid;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a setting screen for setting a transfer device of a priority transfer function.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a setting screen in which a priority transfer function is set to be invalid;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a confirmation screen of a priority transfer function.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 CPU 102 Storage device 103 Operation display device 104 Reading device 105 Printing device 106 Image processing device 107 Image storage device 108 System control unit 109 Communication control unit 110 Network control unit 111 Network control device 112 Modem 113 Ethernet I / F 114 System bus 115 Line switching control device 201 LAN 202 Router 203 Mail server 204a PCa 204b PCb 205 Internet facsimile machine 206 Internet 207 Public switched telephone network (PSTN) 208a Facsimile machine a 208b Facsimile machine b

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. Connected to the Internet,
In an Internet facsimile apparatus connected to a public switched telephone network, priority extracting means for extracting the priority added to each of the documents transmitted and received via the Internet or the public switched telephone network, and the priority extracting means Internet facsimile apparatus, comprising: processing means for executing processing on the document based on the determined priority. 2. When there are a plurality of documents waiting to be processed, the processing unit compares the priorities assigned to the plurality of documents, and based on the comparison, the plurality of documents are arranged in descending order of the priority. 2. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the Internet facsimile apparatus executes a process for the Internet facsimile. 3. The processing unit according to claim 1, wherein, when processing is performed on the document, the same processing is required, and when a document having a higher priority than the document exists, the processing on the document being processed is performed. 2. The process according to claim 1, wherein the process is paused, the process for the high-priority document is performed first, and after the process for the high-priority document ends, the process for the paused document is resumed. Internet facsimile machine. 4. The processing means includes: facsimile transmission processing for transmitting a document by facsimile; Internet facsimile transmission processing for converting a document received by facsimile into an e-mail format and transmitting; and facsimile or e-mail reception. 4. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a document printing process is executed. 5. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising setting means for setting whether or not to execute the processing according to the priority. 6. In a printing process for a document, if the document cannot be printed, and if the priority of the document is higher than a predetermined priority, the document is sent to another device set in advance. 2. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transfer unit for transferring. 7. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising setting means for setting whether or not to perform transfer by said transfer means and setting said predetermined priority. 8. The Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising setting means for setting a priority for a document received by facsimile via a public switched telephone network from a transmission side. 9. Connected to the Internet,
In a control method of an Internet facsimile apparatus connected to a public switched telephone network, a priority added to a document transmitted / received via the Internet or the public switched telephone network is extracted, and the document is extracted based on the extracted priority. A method for controlling an Internet facsimile apparatus, the method comprising: 10. When there are a plurality of documents waiting to be processed, the priorities assigned to the plurality of documents are compared, and based on the comparison, processing is performed on the plurality of documents in descending order of the writing priority. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein
A method for controlling an Internet facsimile apparatus as described in the above. 11. When processing a document,
If there is a document that requires the same process and has a higher priority than the document, the process for the document being processed is temporarily stopped, the process for the document with the higher priority is performed first, and the process for the higher priority document is performed. 10. The control method for an Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 9, wherein after the processing on the document is completed, the processing on the paused document is restarted. 12. The above-mentioned processing includes facsimile transmission processing for transmitting a document by facsimile, Internet facsimile transmission processing for converting a document received by facsimile into an e-mail format, and transmission, and a document received by facsimile or e-mail. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, further comprising at least one of the following printing processes. 13. The control method for an Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 9, wherein whether or not to execute a process according to the priority is set. 14. When printing a document, if the document cannot be printed, and if the priority of the document is higher than a predetermined priority, the document is sent to another predetermined device. 10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the transfer is performed. 15. The control method for an Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 14, wherein whether the transfer is performed and the predetermined priority are set. 16. The control method for an Internet facsimile apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the priority for the document received by facsimile is set via the public switched telephone network from the transmission side.