JP4471328B2 - COMMUNICATION TERMINAL DEVICE, COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication terminal device, a communication method, and a storage medium, and in particular, has a function of transmitting / receiving an image according to a facsimile transmission procedure via a public network and a function of transmitting / receiving data on a LAN (local area network). The present invention relates to a communication terminal device, a communication method, and a storage medium.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Along with the development of the information society, there are an increasing number of companies that establish an in-house network and prepare infrastructure. Along with such enhancement of the network, in order to be able to distribute facsimile received documents from the public network to network terminals, a facsimile server is installed on the LAN, and facsimile received documents are distributed to the terminals on the LAN. A system has been devised. In this system, for example, by using an ITU standard sub-address signal or by reading a destination from a received image by character recognition processing, a destination client of a facsimile reception document is recognized, and a facsimile reception is made to the mail address of the client. A method of distributing a document as an attached file is taken.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the distribution system using the facsimile server, for example, in a method of recognizing a distribution destination client by using a subaddress signal, if the transmission source facsimile does not correspond to the subaddress, the facsimile is directly connected to the client. Distribution is not possible, and the method of recognizing a distribution destination client by character recognition has a problem that accurate distribution may not be possible. When delivery is impossible in either case, the delivery must be done manually by an operator.
[0004]
Furthermore, in order to directly deliver documents received from the public network to the client over the LAN, the introduction of an expensive facsimile server has a disadvantage in that it places a heavy burden on the client in terms of cost.
[0005]
The present invention provides a communication terminal device and a communication method which are easy to use and can be easily distributed at low cost to a client on a LAN and can be set at the time of distribution for each client. The purpose is to provide a medium.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a communication terminal device according to the present invention performs facsimile transmission / reception via a public network in a communication terminal device which performs facsimile transmission / reception via a public network and is connected to a plurality of clients via a LAN. Information indicating how to convert an image received by the receiving unit corresponding to a mail address of the client that is an image transmission destination and converted to an attached file of an e-mail. Information regarding whether or not an image file is attached when the e-mail is transmitted, and information regarding whether the image file attached when the e-mail is transmitted is all or part of the image file. registration means for registering the user operations of the registered information using the operation unit including an image transmission destination click as the registration information A discriminating unit for discriminating whether or not the client is registered; and when a client as an image transmission destination is registered in the registration unit, an email for distribution is created based on the registration information and the reception Means for converting the image received by the means into an image file and attaching the image file to the e-mail; and sending means for sending the e-mail with the image file attached to the destination client. It is characterized by providing.
In order to achieve the above object, a communication method of a communication terminal apparatus according to the present invention is a communication method of a communication terminal apparatus that performs facsimile transmission / reception via a public network and is connected to a plurality of clients via a LAN. A receiving process for receiving an image by facsimile communication via the network, and a conversion process for converting the image received in the receiving process to an e-mail attached file corresponding to the mail address of the client that is the destination of the image Information indicating how to attach an image file at the time of sending the e-mail, and whether the image file attached at the time of sending the e-mail is all or part of the image file a registration step of registering the user operations of the registration information including information using the operation unit on how to, image as the registration information A determination step of determining whether or not a destination client is registered, and if a client as an image destination is registered in the registration step, a distribution e-mail is created based on the registration information And an e-mail creating step of converting the image received in the receiving step into an image file and attaching the image file to the e-mail, and transmitting the e-mail with the image file attached to the destination client. A transmission step.
In order to achieve the above object, a storage medium according to the present invention is a program that performs communication with a communication terminal device that performs facsimile transmission / reception via a public network and is connected to a plurality of clients via a LAN. In the storage medium to be stored, the communication method includes: a receiving step of receiving an image by facsimile communication via the public network; and an image received by the receiving step corresponding to a mail address of the client that is a destination of the image Is information indicating how to convert an image file to an email attachment, information regarding whether to attach an image file when sending the email, and the image attached when sending the email Yoo using the operation unit registration information including information regarding the file to part or to all of the image files A registration step of registering by The operation image client destination is a determining step for determining whether or not it is registered, the image transmission destination of the registration information registered by the registration step as the registration information If the client is registered, create an e-mail for distribution based on the registration information and create an e-mail that converts the image received in the receiving step into an image file and attaches the image file to the e-mail And a transmission step of transmitting an e-mail attached with the image file to the destination client.
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0020]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a communication terminal apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0021]
In the communication terminal device of FIG. 1, the main control unit 1 performs the entire communication terminal device, that is, the RAM 3, the nonvolatile RAM 4, the operation unit 5, the display unit 6, the image processing unit 7, and the reading unit in accordance with the program stored in the ROM 2. 8. Control of the recording unit 9, the public network communication control unit 10, and the LAN communication control unit 11.
[0022]
The RAM 3 stores monochrome binarized image data, color multivalued image data read by the reading unit 8, image data obtained by JPEG compression of the image processing unit 7, or color binarized data recorded by the recording unit 9. Stored and output from the telephone line via the public network communication control unit 10 as monochrome binarized data, color JPEG compressed data, decompressed color multivalued data, and binarized color binary for further recording Stores digitized data. The RAM 3 stores management information for managing the data, work information for apparatus operation, and status information of the recording unit.
[0023]
The non-volatile RAM 4 is a battery-backed SRAM, and stores data such as device-specific telephone numbers and client abbreviations, and information on device settings by the client. In the present embodiment, new settings such as an e-mail address for delivering a facsimile received document for each client, presence / absence of image attachment at the time of delivery, designation of a page to be attached, etc. are newly stored in FIG. Provide an area.
[0024]
The operation unit 5 includes a start key for transmission and reception, a mode key for designating a communication mode such as color and monochrome in a transmission image, a copy key at the time of copying, a stop key for stopping operation, a registration key for registering by touch, An error cancel key for canceling an error, a LAN distribution key for registering detailed settings for distributing a facsimile received document to a client on the LAN, and the like.
[0025]
The display unit 6 includes a dot matrix type LCD and an LCD driver, and performs various displays based on control from the main control unit 1.
[0026]
The image processing unit 7 compresses monochrome binary data read by the reading unit 8, JPEG compression of color multivalued data, and compresses / decompresses monochrome binary data for recording / reception of images with the other party in the communication processing unit 11. Image processing such as expansion of monochrome binary data and color JPEG image when an image is recorded by the unit 9 is performed, and the data is stored in the RAM 3. Also, JPEG, TIFF, PDF, BMP, MMR, JBIG specified by the client to distribute monochrome binary data and color JPEG image data received from the other party and stored in RAM3 by attaching to e-mail A process of converting to an image format such as
[0027]
The reading unit 8 includes a DMA controller, a CCD or a contact image sensor (CS), a general-purpose IC, and the like. Data read using the CCD or CS based on the control of the main control unit 1 is stored in the RAM 3 or the image processing unit. 7 to send.
[0028]
The recording unit 9 is composed of a DMA controller, a B4 / A4 size thermal head or BJ printer head (bubble jet printer head), a general-purpose IC, etc., and takes out the recording data stored in the RAM 3 under the control of the main control unit 1 Print out as a hard copy.
[0029]
The public network communication control unit 10 is composed of V.34, V.17, V.29, V.27ter, V.21 (H, L) modems, a clock generation circuit connected to these modems, an NCU, and the like. Based on the control of the main control unit 1, the transmission data stored in the RAM 3 is modulated and output to the telephone line, and the monochrome / color facsimile communication is realized and received from the telephone line in accordance with the recommendation of ITU T.30. The demodulated image is demodulated and stored in the RAM 3.
[0030]
The LAN communication control unit 11 is connected to a network line such as Ethernet as a physical layer, and is converted to Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) for performing TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) protocol and electronic mail communication. By executing (for example, Base64) or SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), processing for distributing received documents to clients on the network is realized.
[0031]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a configuration example of a network in which the communication terminal apparatus of FIG. 1 is arranged.
[0032]
In the network of FIG. 2, the communication terminal device 21 of FIG. 1 is connected to a mail server device 22 and a plurality of client terminals 23 via a LAN. The e-mail is once stored in the mail server device 22 via the communication terminal device 21 and then transmitted in a storage-and-delivery type transmission form that is distributed to the destination. Each client terminal makes an inquiry to the mail server device 22 for receiving an e-mail addressed to the client of its own terminal from each client terminal 23. When the e-mail addressed to the client is stored in the mail server device 22, the mail server device The electronic mail is received from 22 and the client is notified to that effect.
[0033]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a table that stores distribution destination information when the communication terminal apparatus of FIG. 1 distributes a monochrome document or a color document received from the public network to a client on the LAN.
[0034]
The table shown in FIG. 3 is arranged in the nonvolatile RAM 4, and the information in this table is configured to be set from the operation unit 5. For example, a LAN distribution key is assigned for table registration, and when this key is pressed, operations such as adding a client to this table, changing settings, and deleting a client can be performed. In FIG. 3, the stored information includes a client abbreviation for identifying a distribution registrant, an e-mail address of an e-mail transmission destination, image attachment information indicating whether or not to attach a received image to an e-mail, and attaching an image Specify the document page information for attaching all pages or only the first page, color conversion format information for specifying the document conversion format when attaching a color document, and specifying the document conversion format for attaching a monochrome document Monochrome conversion format information and the like.
[0035]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a table that stores image formats used as options when setting color conversion format information in the distribution destination information table of FIG.
[0036]
The table in FIG. 4 is stored in the ROM 2 or the RAM 3 and stores a document format that can be converted when a color document received by the communication terminal apparatus in FIG. 1 is distributed as an attached file on the LAN.
[0037]
In the present embodiment, the image formats stored in the table of FIG. 4 can be converted into JPEG format, TIFF format, PDF format, and bitmap format. In addition, this table includes division information on whether to create an attached file by dividing an image into pages when an image is converted according to each color image format, or to create an attached file as one document without being divided. Is stored.
[0038]
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a table that stores image formats used as options when setting monochrome conversion format information in the distribution destination information table of FIG.
[0039]
The table in FIG. 5 is stored in the ROM 2 or the RAM 3 and stores document formats that can be converted when the communication terminal apparatus in FIG. 1 distributes a monochrome document received from the public network as an attached file on the LAN.
[0040]
In the present embodiment, the image format stored in the table of FIG. 5 can be converted into the MMR format, GIF format (grayscale), PDF format, and JBIG format. This table also includes division information on whether to create an attached file by dividing an image into pages when converting an image in each monochrome image format, or to create an attached file as one document without dividing the image. Is stored.
[0041]
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the received document distribution process executed by the communication terminal device of FIG.
[0042]
First, an image file is received from the other party facsimile via the public network according to the ITU T.30 recommendation (step S601). The image file is composed of a monochrome image page or a color image page. A monochrome image is encoded in one of the MH / MR / MMR / JBIG formats, and a color image is encoded in the JPEG format and received. This communication terminal apparatus stores these encoded data in the RAM 3 together with page information such as monochrome / color color information and encoding method information for each page.
[0043]
Next, it is determined from the setting contents of the distribution destination information table (FIG. 3) whether or not one or more image file transmission destination clients are registered in the distribution destination information table (step S602). If one or more clients are registered, the header and text of the e-mail for transmission are created (step S603). In creating the header part, the information stored in the mail address column of the delivery destination information table is set in the To field indicating the destination. In the Subject field indicating the title, character information such as “Fax Received” indicating facsimile reception may be stored in the ROM 2 in advance and set. Also, the information indicating the facsimile reception described above may be set in the text field, or nothing may be set.
[0044]
In a succeeding step S604, it is determined whether or not the image attachment setting of the distribution destination client is “attach” based on the distribution destination information table. If the result of determination in step S604 is not “attach” but “not attach”, the process proceeds to S609, whereas if “attach”, the client of the delivery destination is based on the delivery destination information table. It is determined whether or not the attached page setting is all pages (step S605).
[0045]
As a result of the determination in step S605, if the attached page setting is “all pages”, all page image conversion processing in FIG. 7 described later is performed to convert the received image into an image format designated by the client (step S606). If the attached page setting is not “all pages”, cover page conversion processing shown in FIG. 8 described later is performed to convert only the first page of the received image into the image format designated by the client (step S607).
[0046]
In step S608, the image created in the all page conversion process (FIG. 7) or the cover page conversion process (FIG. 8) is added to the e-mail as an attached file. Specifically, in the MIME method, an image that is a binary file is converted into a character string that can be transmitted by e-mail using an encoding method such as Base64, and is described following the body of the e-mail.
[0047]
In the subsequent step S609, the created electronic mail is transmitted by SMTP to the destination client terminal 23 registered in the distribution destination information table via the mail server 22 on the LAN, and then the processing in step S602 and subsequent steps is executed. .
[0048]
As a result of the determination in step S602, when all e-mails are sent to the destinations registered in the delivery destination information table and there are no more e-mail destinations, the received image is printed out from the recording unit 9, and the image is erased from the RAM 3. (Step S610), the process is terminated.
[0049]
FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the all-page image conversion process in step S606 of FIG.
[0050]
First, it is determined whether or not there is a color page from the image information of each page of the received document (step S701). If even one page has a color page, distribution is performed based on the distribution destination information table (FIG. 3). The setting of the color conversion format information of the previous client is acquired (step S702), and based on the color conversion format table (FIG. 4), it is determined whether or not the division setting of the color conversion format acquired in step S702 is “division”. (Step S703).
[0051]
As a result of the determination in step S703, when the division setting is not “division” but “no division”, the image processing unit 7 converts all pages of the received image into the image format designated by the client, and converts one file into one file. Create (step S704), and the process ends.
[0052]
As a result of the determination in step S703, when the obtained color conversion format division setting is “division”, first, the image processing unit 7 converts the image of the first page of the received image into the image format designated by the client. One file is created (step S707), and then it is determined whether or not there is a next page in the received image (step S708).
[0053]
If the result of determination in step S708 is that there is a next page, the process returns to step S707 to convert the image of the next page of the received image again into the image format designated by the client to create one file. This process is repeated until there are no more pages, and this process ends when there are no more pages.
[0054]
As a result of the determination in step S701, if there is no color page in the received document, the setting of the monochrome conversion format information (encoding method) of the distribution destination client is acquired based on the distribution destination information table. (Step S705) Based on the monochrome conversion format table (FIG. 5), it is determined whether or not the division setting of the monochrome conversion format acquired in step S705 is “division” (step S706).
[0055]
As a result of the determination in step S706, when the division setting is not “division” but “no division”, the image processing unit 7 converts all pages of the received image into the image format designated by the client, and converts one file into one file. Create (step S707), and the process ends.
[0056]
As a result of the determination in step S706, if the obtained monochrome conversion format division setting requires division, first, the image processing unit 7 converts the image of the first page of the received image into the image format designated by the client. One file is created (step S707).
[0057]
If the result of determination in step S708 is that there is a next page, the process returns to step S707 to convert the image of the next page of the received image again into the image format designated by the client to create one file. This process is repeated until there are no more pages, and this process ends when there are no more pages.
[0058]
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of the cover page conversion process in step S607 of FIG.
[0059]
First, it is determined whether or not the first page of the received document is a color page (step S801). If the result of determination in step S801 is a color page, the setting of color conversion format information (encoding system) of the client to be distributed is acquired based on the distribution destination information table (step S803), and the image processing unit 7 The first page of the received image is converted into the converted image format acquired in step S802 to create one file (step S803), and this process ends.
[0060]
If the first page of the received document is not a color page as a result of the determination in step S801, the setting of the monochrome conversion format information of the client to be distributed is acquired based on the distribution destination information table (step S802), and the image The processing unit 7 converts the first page of the received image into the converted image format acquired in S803 to create one file (step S804), and ends this process.
[0061]
The above embodiment is an example in which the process of searching from the distribution destination information table of the e-mail and transmitting the converted image attached to the e-mail is repeated until there are no distribution destinations. Search from the mail delivery destination information table and repeat the process of attaching the converted image to the email until there are no delivery destinations. After all the emails to be sent are created, send the entire email. Also good. In this method, it is possible to create an e-mail by simply adding an address to an e-mail destination for a client who wants to deliver the same attached image format, and the time required for image conversion processing can be reduced. .
[0062]
In addition, first, the received image may be converted into each format in advance, and the attached image may be selected according to the designation of the client at the time of e-mail creation. This reduces the overall processing time when there are many clients wishing to deliver. it can.
[0063]
It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a case in which a storage medium storing software program modules for realizing the above-described embodiments is achieved by supplying a program to a system or apparatus. In this case, the program module itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the storage medium storing the program constitutes the present invention.
[0064]
In the above embodiment, the program module is stored in the ROM 2 in the communication terminal device, but as a storage medium for supplying the program module, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, MO, CD Various types such as -R, DVD, magnetic tape, and non-volatile memory card are conceivable. However, the present invention is not limited to a specific type, and any program can be used as long as the program can be stored.
[0065]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the communication terminal device, the communication method, and the storage medium of the present invention, at the time of facsimile reception from the public network, all the clients registered in the client registration information are By creating and distributing e-mails according to the registration information, documents received from any facsimile can be easily and reliably distributed to clients on the LAN without introducing an expensive facsimile server. Since it is possible to specify the presence / absence of an image, the attached page, and the format of the attached image, it is possible to make settings according to the needs of the client, and the usability is greatly improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication terminal apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a configuration example of a network in which the communication terminal device of FIG. 1 is arranged.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a table that stores distribution destination information when the communication terminal apparatus of FIG. 1 distributes a monochrome document or a color document received from a public network to a client on a LAN.
4 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a table that stores image formats used as options when setting color conversion format information in the distribution destination information table of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a table that stores image formats used as options when setting monochrome conversion format information in the distribution destination information table of FIG. 3;
6 is a flowchart of received document distribution processing executed by the communication terminal device of FIG. 1;
7 is a flowchart of all page image conversion processing in step S606 of FIG.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of cover page conversion processing in step S607 of FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Main controller 2 ROM
3 RAM
4 Nonvolatile RAM
5 Operation unit 6 Display unit 7 Image processing unit 8 Reading unit 9 Recording unit 10 Public group communication control unit 11 LAN communication control unit

Claims (9)

In a communication terminal device that performs facsimile transmission / reception via a public network and is connected to a plurality of clients via a LAN,
Receiving means for receiving an image by facsimile communication via the public network;
Information indicating how to convert an image received by the receiving unit corresponding to a mail address of the client that is an image transmission destination into an attached file of an e-mail, the image being transmitted when the e-mail is transmitted Using the operation unit, registration information including information on whether or not to attach a file and information on whether or not the image file to be attached at the time of sending the e-mail is all or part of the image file is used. Registration means for registering by user operation ;
Determination means for determining whether or not a client of an image transmission destination is registered as the registration information;
When a client serving as an image transmission destination is registered in the registration unit, an electronic mail for distribution is created based on the registration information, and the image received by the reception unit is converted into an image file and the electronic mail E-mail creating means for attaching the image file to
A communication terminal apparatus comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit an e-mail attached with the image file to the destination client.   The communication terminal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the registration information includes information regarding an encoding method of an image file attached when the electronic mail is transmitted.   The registration information includes information indicating whether an image received by the receiving unit is divided into pages and converted into image files or all pages are converted into one file. The communication terminal device according to claim 2. In a communication method of a communication terminal device that performs facsimile transmission / reception via a public network and is connected to a plurality of clients via a LAN,
A receiving step of receiving an image by facsimile communication via the public network;
Information indicating how to convert an image received in the receiving step corresponding to a mail address of the client, which is an image transmission destination, into an attached file of an e-mail. A user who uses an operation unit to register information including information on whether or not to attach a file and information on whether or not the image file to be attached at the time of sending the e-mail is all or part of the image file A registration process to register by the operation of
A determination step of determining whether or not an image transmission destination client is registered as the registration information;
When a client that is an image transmission destination is registered in the registration step, an electronic mail for distribution is created based on the registration information, and the image received in the reception step is converted into an image file and the electronic mail Creating an e-mail to attach the image file to
A communication method of a communication terminal device, comprising: a transmission step of transmitting an electronic mail to which the image file is attached to the destination client.   The communication method according to claim 4, wherein the registration information includes information related to an encoding method of an image file attached when the electronic mail is transmitted.   The registration information includes information indicating whether the image received in the receiving step is divided into pages and converted into image files or all pages are converted as one file. The communication method according to claim 5. In a storage medium for storing a program that performs facsimile transmission / reception via a public network and causes a communication device to execute a communication method of a communication terminal device connected to a plurality of clients via a LAN,
The communication method includes a receiving step of receiving an image by facsimile communication via the public network;
Information indicating how to convert an image received in the receiving step corresponding to a mail address of the client that is an image transmission destination into an attached file of an e-mail, A user who uses an operation unit to register information including information on whether or not to attach a file and information on whether or not the image file to be attached at the time of sending the e-mail is all or part of the image file A registration process to register by the operation of
A determination step of determining whether or not an image transmission destination client is registered as the registration information;
When a client serving as an image transmission destination is registered in the registration information registered in the registration step, a distribution e-mail is created based on the registration information, and the image received in the reception step is converted into an image file. An email creation step of converting and attaching the image file to the email;
A storage medium comprising: a transmission step of transmitting an electronic mail attached with the image file to the destination client.   8. The storage medium according to claim 7, wherein the registration information includes information related to an encoding method of an image file attached when the electronic mail is transmitted.   The registration information includes information indicating whether the image received in the reception step is divided into pages and converted into image files or all pages are converted as one file. The storage medium according to claim 8.

Images