JP2001136337A - Data communication equipment and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a data communication equipment and method that can easily transmit facsimile data and electronic mail data to a common recipient. SOLUTION: A facsimile server unit 5a being the data communication equipment manages a table cross-referencing a facsimile number and an electronic mail address to a common recipient, analyzes a processing request from a client terminal, a data conversion section 11 converts a document requested by the client terminal into a document for a facsimile terminal corresponding to a destination facsimile number and the facsimile server unit 5a transmits the converted document. Furthermore, when a destination user can utilize an electronic mail, the facsimile server unit 5a transmits and electronic mail denoting a FAX transmission notice.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data communication apparatus and method for transmitting facsimile data and electronic mail data to a designated recipient.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a facsimile apparatus or facsimile application for transmitting facsimile data, and a communication apparatus or e-mail application for transmitting e-mail have been known. Such devices or applications have been dedicated to facsimile and e-mail, respectively.

That is, when facsimile data is transmitted, transmission is executed by inputting a facsimile number of a desired recipient with a facsimile apparatus or a facsimile application, and when e-mail data is transmitted, an e-mail address is similarly transmitted. , The transmission is executed.

[0004]

However, conventionally, as described above, dedicated devices or applications are used as described above. Therefore, when facsimile data and e-mail data are to be transmitted to a common recipient, each operation must be performed. This had to be done separately. For example, when sending a message to that effect when sending facsimile data by e-mail, it is necessary to determine the e-mail address of the recipient of the facsimile data and to input and send it using an e-mail application or the like. Work was required.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a data communication apparatus and a method capable of easily transmitting facsimile data and electronic mail data to a common recipient.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a data communication apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a first transmitting means for transmitting facsimile data; a second transmitting means for transmitting e-mail data; Management means for managing a table in which a facsimile number for executing transmission by the first transmission means and an e-mail address for executing transmission by the second transmission means for a common recipient; Control means for controlling transmission by the first transmission means and transmission by the second transmission means in accordance with designation of a recipient of a table managed by the means.

To achieve the above object, a data communication method according to the present invention comprises a first transmitting step of transmitting facsimile data, a second transmitting step of transmitting e-mail data, and a common receiver. And a management step of managing a table in which a facsimile number for executing transmission in the first transmission step and an e-mail address for executing transmission in the second transmission step are associated with each other. And a control step of controlling the transmission in the first transmission step and the transmission in the second transmission step in accordance with the designation of the recipient of the table.

[0008]

In the above configuration, a function is provided so that a message indicating facsimile transmission notification is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus on the receiving side.

[0009]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a facsimile server system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numerals 1a and 1b denote local area networks (hereinafter referred to as LANs), 2a, 2b and 2
c is a client terminal connected to the LAN 1a, and includes, for example, a personal computer and a workstation. Also, 20a, 20b, and 20c are:
This is a client terminal connected to the LAN 1b. Reference numeral 3 denotes a wide area network (hereinafter referred to as a WAN) such as an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) or a public telephone network, 4a, 4b,
Reference numeral 4c denotes a facsimile terminal connected to the WAN 4, which includes, for example, a G4 facsimile, a G3 facsimile, and the like.

The facsimile server 5a is connected to the LAN 1
a, and can communicate with the facsimile terminals 4a to 4c via the WAN 3. Similarly, the facsimile server device 5b communicates with the client terminal 2 via the LAN 1b.
0a to 20c, and can communicate with facsimile terminals 4a to 4c via WAN3.

Each of the client terminals 2a-2c, 20a-
Reference numeral 20c allows the user of each terminal to use the facsimile server devices 5a and 5b, which are shared resources. The facsimile server device 5a has a LAN communication control unit 6, a main storage unit 7, a main control unit 8, a document storage unit 9, an address conversion table storage unit 10, a data conversion unit 11, and a WAN communication control unit 12.

In the facsimile server device 5a, L
The AN communication control unit 6 controls communication with each of the client terminals 2a to 2c via the LAN 1a. The main storage unit 7 is a storage unit for storing a program for performing processing according to control procedures shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, which will be described later. The main control unit 8 controls the entire facsimile server system according to the present embodiment according to a program stored in the main storage unit 7. The document storage section 9 stores documents received from the client terminal and the facsimile terminal.

The address conversion table storage unit 10 is shown in FIG.
And a correspondence between the user name, the facsimile number, and the e-mail address are written in the address conversion table. The data converter 11 converts between a data format handled by the client terminal and a communication data format for the facsimile terminal. The WAN communication control unit 12 controls communication with the facsimile terminal via the WAN 3.

Since the internal configuration of the facsimile server 5b is the same as that of the facsimile server 5a, its illustration and description are omitted here. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a command format between a client and a server used in the facsimile server system according to the embodiment. As shown in the figure, the command format includes fields of a command type, a sender name, a receiver name, document information, and additional information.
The document information field includes information such as the document size, the number of documents, and the resolution.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a facsimile transmission notification message used in the facsimile server system according to the present embodiment. As is clear from the figure,
As a transmission notification message, a transmission date and time, a transmission source, a reception destination, and a subject are notified together with the message. Next, a message transmission / reception procedure in the facsimile server system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure for transmitting a message or the like, which is executed by the facsimile server device 5a constituting the facsimile server system according to this embodiment. When the facsimile server device 5a receives a processing request from the client terminals 2a to 2c via the LAN communication control unit 6 in step S1 of FIG. 5, the processing request content from the client terminal is analyzed in step S2. Here, the processing request from the client terminal to the facsimile server device 5a is transmitted in the format of the client-server command format shown in FIG.

In step S3, the contents of the command type field of the command format are set to facsimile (F
If it is determined that the transmission is AX) transmission, a FAX transmission process from step S4 is executed. Note that the above step S3
If it is determined that the processing request content from the client terminal is not facsimile (FAX) transmission, other processing is performed in step S9, and the transmission processing of this message is terminated.

In this embodiment, as a facsimile transmission process, the main control unit 8 of the facsimile server 5a first refers to the address conversion table shown in FIG. 2 to determine the destination facsimile number. By referring to this table,
The main control unit 8 reads the contents of the recipient name field in the client-server command format shown in FIG. 3 and compares it with the user name in the address conversion table shown in FIG. If there is, the corresponding facsimile number is read.

Next, in step S5, the data conversion unit 1
In step 1, the document requested by the client terminal is converted into a communication data format for the facsimile terminal corresponding to the destination facsimile number, and transmitted to the corresponding facsimile terminal via the WAN communication control unit 12. In step S6, it is checked whether the destination user (recipient) can receive the e-mail. This is performed by checking whether an e-mail address for the corresponding user is registered in the address conversion table shown in FIG. As a result, if the destination user can use the e-mail, the process proceeds to step S7, and a facsimile transmission notification message as shown in FIG. 4 is created.

In the following step S8, using the e-mail address obtained from the address conversion table of FIG.
An e-mail indicating the facsimile transmission notification is transmitted to the destination user, and the process ends. If it is determined in step S6 that the destination user cannot use the e-mail, the document is simply transmitted to the destination facsimile terminal, and the process ends.

According to the above processing, when the user performs facsimile transmission from the client terminal, a message for notifying that the facsimile has been transmitted is transmitted to the recipient client terminal as e-mail. next,
An operation of receiving a message or the like in the facsimile server system according to the present embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure for receiving a message or the like executed by the facsimile server 5a in the facsimile server system according to this embodiment. In step S11 of FIG. 6, the WAN communication control unit 1 constituting the facsimile server device 5a (or 5b) is waiting for data reception from the WAN 3.
2 receives data from the WAN 3, in step S12, checks whether it is a facsimile reception. If the data reception is a facsimile reception, the process proceeds to step S13, and the received document is stored in the document storage unit 9.

In the following step S14, it is checked whether there is a reception request from the client terminals 2a to 2c. If there is a reception request, the received document is transferred to the corresponding client terminal in step S15, and The process ends. However, if it is determined in step S14 that there is no reception request from the client terminal, the process ends.

On the other hand, in step S12, WAN3
If it is determined that the received data is not a facsimile reception, it is determined in step S16 whether the data is an e-mail reception. As a result, in the case of receiving the e-mail, the process proceeds to step S17, the e-mail is delivered to the corresponding client terminal, and the process ends. However, if it is determined in step S16 that the received data is not an e-mail reception, in step S18, other processing is performed, and then this processing ends.

According to the above-described reception processing, when the user performs facsimile transmission from the client terminal, the transmitted facsimile transmission notification message is received by the receiver client terminal as an electronic mail. As described above, according to the present embodiment, when a user performs facsimile transmission from a client terminal, a message notifying that the facsimile has been transmitted is transmitted to the recipient client terminal as an e-mail. so,
The recipient can easily recognize the presence of the message reception addressed to himself by looking at the electronic mail.

The present invention may be applied to a system constituted by a plurality of devices or to an apparatus constituted by a single device. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It manages a table that associates facsimile numbers and e-mail addresses for common recipients, and controls the transmission of facsimile data and e-mail data according to the designation of the recipient, so it is easy to use common recipients Can send facsimile data and e-mail data

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a facsimile server system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a format example of an address conversion table in the facsimile server system according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a format of a message between a client and a server in the facsimile server system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a facsimile transmission notification message in the facsimile server system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission processing procedure in the facsimile server system according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a reception processing procedure in the facsimile server system according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

1a, 1b LAN (local area network) 2a, 2b, 2c, 20a, 20b, 20c Client terminal 3 WAN (wide area network) 4a, 4b, 4c Facsimile terminal 5a, 5b Facsimile server device 6 LAN communication control unit 7 Main storage unit Reference Signs List 8 Main control unit 9 Document storage unit 10 Address conversion table storage unit 11 Data conversion unit 12 WAN communication control unit

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat II (Reference) H04N 1/32 H04L 11/20 B

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first transmitting means for transmitting facsimile data, a second transmitting means for transmitting e-mail data, and a facsimile for causing a common receiver to execute transmission by the first transmitting means. Management means for managing a table in which a number and an e-mail address for executing transmission by the second transmission means are associated with each other; and Control means for controlling transmission by the first transmission means and transmission by the second transmission means. 2. The control means causes facsimile data to be transmitted in response to a transmission instruction from the first transmission means, and causes a message indicating the transmission to be transmitted by the second transmission means. The data communication device according to claim 1. 3. A first transmitting step of transmitting facsimile data, a second transmitting step of transmitting e-mail data, and a facsimile for causing a common recipient to execute transmission in the postponed first transmitting step. A management step of managing a table in which a number and an e-mail address for performing transmission in the second transmission step are managed; and the second step is performed in accordance with designation of a recipient of the table managed in the management step. A data communication method, comprising: a control step of controlling transmission by the first transmission step and transmission by the second transmission step.