JP2002324035A - Communication device, communication method, program and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication device that, when transferring an image using an electronic mail (e-mail) protocol, enables a receiving machine side to print in order even if the large image data are divided and transmitted. SOLUTION: For transmitting by e-mail, the image data of page i that have been read, a well-known BASE64 conversion is performed (S10), and then whether or not the size of the e-mail exceeds a transmission maximum size is determined (S11). If the size of the e-mail exceeds the transmission maximum size, it is determined whether the e-mail is to be divided by page (S19). If the e-mail is to be divided by page, 'partial' data are produced (S20) and transmitted. If the e-mail is not divided by page, 'divide' data are generated (S23) and transmitted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication apparatus for dividing large-sized image data into a plurality of e-mails when transmitting image data read by a scanner attached to an e-mail. The present invention relates to a method, a program, and a storage medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of computers and networking of information, e-mail for transmitting and receiving character information over a network has become widespread. A file in various formats can be attached to the e-mail in addition to the mail text which is character information. For example, an image TIFF (Tag Image File F) specified in the attached file can be attached.
Internet FAX that transmits and receives images by attaching a file is known.

However, if an electronic mail is attached with an image file having a large number of pages or a high-definition image file and transmitted, the data size of the electronic mail becomes enormous. When an e-mail of such an enormous amount is transmitted, the function of the mail server relaying along the way may be stopped, or in the worst case, the mail server may be destroyed.

[0004] For this reason, the mail server is generally set so as not to receive an e-mail of a certain size or more. In order to transmit and receive large-size data in such an environment, an RFC (Request
For Comments (2046), MIME (Multiple-Input) is used when data is divided into a plurality of pieces and transmitted.
urpose Internet Mail Exte
nsion) An expression method is defined.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-184767 discloses a technique in which image data is divided and transmitted in page units so as not to exceed a predetermined size. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-196218 discloses a technique of transmitting a FAX reception document by dividing it into a certain size when transmitting the FAX reception document.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, there are the following problems, and improvement thereof has been demanded. That is, the divided transmission method described in RFC-2046 does not always support a method of combining data transmitted by the receiver. If the recipient does not support this combining method, it is not possible to combine the files and restore them even if all the files have been received.

In the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-184767, when data is divided and transmitted in units of pages of an image, the order of arrival at a receiver is guaranteed even if e-mails are transmitted in order. However, when the e-mail received by the receiver is printed, the order of the pages is disturbed. Further, when another e-mail having no relation to the e-mail is received on the way, the e-mail is interrupted between one document, and it is difficult to distinguish the two.

Therefore, the present invention provides a communication apparatus which can print in order on a receiver side even if image data of a large size is divided and transmitted when transferring image data using an e-mail protocol. , A transmission method, a program, and a storage medium.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a communication device according to the present invention, in a communication device for transmitting an electronic mail, determines whether or not the size of the electronic mail exceeds a set size. A size determination unit, a first division unit that divides the e-mail into page units when the size of the e-mail exceeds a set size, and a first division unit that divides the e-mail into units of pages,
A second dividing unit that divides the electronic mail for each predetermined size, a switching unit that switches between the first and second dividing units, and the switched first or second dividing unit. Transmitting means for transmitting a plurality of e-mails divided by the e-mail.

[0010] The communication apparatus of the present invention further comprises a registration unit in which information as to whether or not to divide and transmit, and information as to whether or not to divide into pages in the division and transmission are registered. The switching unit switches according to information registered in the registration unit.

Further, the communication apparatus according to the present invention includes destination information registration means in which information about a destination is registered, and the switching means stores the information about the destination and the size of the e-mail registered in the destination information registration means. It is characterized by switching based on.

[0012] In the transmission method of the present invention, in the transmission method for transmitting an electronic mail, a determining step of determining whether or not the size of the electronic mail exceeds a set size; and A first dividing step of dividing the e-mail into page units;
When the size of the e-mail exceeds a set size, a second division step of dividing the e-mail into predetermined sizes, a switching step of switching to one of the first and second division steps, A transmission step of transmitting a plurality of e-mails divided by the switched first division step or the second division step.

[0013] The transmission method of the present invention further comprises a registration step of registering information as to whether or not to divide and transmit, and information as to whether or not to divide into pages in the division and transmission. Wherein the switching step is performed in accordance with the registered information.

Further, the transmission method of the present invention has a destination information registering step of registering information on a destination, and in the switching step, based on the information on the registered destination and the size of the e-mail, Switching is characterized.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a communication device, a transmission method, a program, and a storage medium according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication apparatus according to a first embodiment. The communication device includes a reader unit 1, a printer unit 2, and an image input / output control unit 3. The reader unit 1 reads an image of a document, and outputs image data corresponding to the document image to the printer unit 2 and the image input / output control unit 3. The printer unit 2 records an image corresponding to image data output from the reader unit 1 and the image input / output control unit 3 on recording paper. The image input / output control unit 3 connects the reader unit 1 and also includes a facsimile unit 4, a file unit 5, a network I / F unit (network interface unit) 7, a formatter unit 8, an image memory unit 9, and a core unit 10. Have.

The facsimile unit 4 decompresses the compressed image data received via the telephone line, transfers the decompressed image data to the core unit 10, and compresses and compresses the image data transferred from the core unit 10. This is a circuit for transmitting the compressed image data to a telephone line.

The file section 5 is connected to the magneto-optical disk drive 6 and compresses the image data transferred from the core section 10, and compresses the compressed image data together with a keyword for searching the image data. 6 is written on the magneto-optical disk set. The file unit 5 searches compressed image data stored in the magneto-optical disk based on the keyword transferred through the core unit 10, reads out the searched compressed image data, decompresses it, and Is transferred to the core unit 10.

The network I / F unit 7 has an interface for connecting the image input / output control unit 3 to a network. This network is a mail server, PO
It is connected to a P server 12 and further to an Internet network 13 that extends throughout the world. Further, a hard disk 52 is connected to the network I / F unit 7,
It is possible to save the data received by aile.
There are a plurality of mail servers such as a mail server 14 in the Internet network 13, and it is possible to send and receive e-mails with many people.

The formatter unit 8 includes a network I / F
A circuit for developing code data representing an image transferred from a computer connected to the unit 7 into image data printable by the printer unit 2.

The image memory section 9 is a circuit for temporarily storing image data. The core unit 10 includes the reader unit 1,
Facsimile unit 4, File unit 5, Network I / F
The transfer of data in each block of the unit 7, the formatter unit 8, and the image memory unit 9 is controlled. Details of the core unit 10 will be described later.

The operation of the communication device having the above configuration will be described.
Here, an operation of attaching an image read by the reader unit 1 to an e-mail and transmitting the image to the mail client 15 will be described. The image read by the reader unit 1 to the mail client 15 is converted into an e-mail format, and is converted to an SMTP (Sim
ple Mail Transfer Protocol
In 1), the data is transmitted to the mail server 12.

The mail server 12 sends the specified Mail
The data is transferred to the mail server 14 via the Internet 13 based on the mail address information of the client 15. Mail server 14 that received this mail
Recognizes, based on the e-mail address information, the address of the user managed by itself, and stores the received data in the e-mail box of the mail client 15.

The mail client 15 has installed therein e-mail software capable of transmitting and receiving e-mails.
stOffice Protocol-Version
According to 3), it is checked whether a new mail has arrived in the mailbox of the POP server 14. When a new mail has arrived, the mail can be downloaded and the image read by the reader unit 1 can be obtained.

When transmitting data to the Internet FAX machine 17, the data can be transmitted via the Mail server 12, the Internet network 13, and the mail server 14. The received image is printed. Similarly, the image read by the Internet FAX machine 17 is also used for the mail server 14, the Internet network 13, and the Mail server 1.
2 and can be received by the communication device, and the received image can be printed by the printer unit 3.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of an image input / output device in which the reader unit 1 and the printer unit 2 are provided integrally. A document feeder 101 is mounted on the reader unit 1. The document feeder 101 feeds a document one by one from a last page onto a platen glass 102 one by one. The original on 102 is discharged.

When the document is conveyed onto the platen glass 102, the lamp 103 is turned on and the scanner unit 104
Starts moving. The original is exposed and scanned by the movement of the scanner unit 104, and the reflected light from the original at the time of the exposure scanning is transmitted through mirrors 105, 106 and 107 and a lens 108 to a CCD image sensor (hereinafter referred to as a CCD image sensor).
). The scanned document image is
The image is read by the CCD 109, and the CCD 109 converts the optically read image into image data by photoelectric conversion and outputs the image data. After a predetermined process is performed, the CCD 109
Image data output from the printer unit 2 and a core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3 via a video bus (not shown).
Forwarded over.

The printer unit 2 inputs the image data output from the reader unit 1 to the laser driver 201. The laser driver 201 drives the laser light emitting unit 221 based on the input image data. The laser emitting section 221 emits a laser beam according to the image data output from the reader section 1. The laser beam is irradiated while being scanned on the photosensitive drum 202, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the laser beam is formed on the photosensitive drum 202.

The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 202 is visualized as a developer image by the developer supplied from the developing device 203. The cassette 204 and the cassette 205 are synchronized at the timing synchronized with the start of the laser beam irradiation.
The recording paper is fed from either one of these, and the recording paper is conveyed between the photosensitive drum 202 and the transfer unit 206. The developer image formed on the photosensitive drum 202 is transferred by the transfer unit 206 onto the fed recording paper.

The recording paper onto which the developer image has been transferred is fixed to the fixing unit 20.
The fixing unit 207 fixes the developer image on the recording paper by heat-pressing the recording paper. The recording paper that has passed through the fixing unit 207 is discharged by a discharge roller 208, and the sorter 220 sorts the recording paper by storing the discharged recording paper in each bin. The sorter 220
Operates to store the recording paper in the uppermost bin when the sorting is not set. When double-sided recording is set, the rotation of the discharge roller 208 is reversed after the recording paper is conveyed to the position of the discharge roller 208, and the recording paper is guided by the flapper 209 to the re-feed conveyance path. Further, when the multiplex recording is set, the flapper 20 is set so that the recording paper is not conveyed to the discharge roller 208.
9 is switched to guide the sheet to the re-feeding conveyance path. The recording paper guided to the re-feeding conveyance path is fed again between the photosensitive drum 202 and the transfer unit 206 at the timing described above.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the reader unit 1 of the communication device. The image data output from the CCD 109 is subjected to analog / digital conversion in the A / D / SH unit 110, converted into digital data, and subjected to shading correction. The image data processed by the A / D / SH unit 110 is
The image data is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the image processing unit 111, and is also transferred to the core unit 10 of the image input / output control unit 3 via an I / F unit (interface unit) 113. The image processing unit 113 performs an interface with the core unit 10 by performing various image processing such as a trimming process and taking in data including image data transferred from the core unit 10.

Image processing section 111 and I / F section 113
Is controlled by the CPU 114 according to the setting contents set by the operation unit 115. For example, when a copy mode in which a copy is performed by performing a trimming process with the operation unit 115 is set, the CPU 114 executes the trimming process in the image processing unit 111 and outputs the trimmed image data to the printer unit 2. Control to transfer to. When the facsimile transmission mode is set on the operation unit 115, the CPU 114 controls the I / F unit 113 to transfer image data and a control command corresponding to the set mode to the core unit 10.

The control by the CPU 114 is executed according to a control program stored in the memory 116. The memory 116 is also used as a work area of the CPU 114.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the core unit 10 of the communication device. The core unit 10 has an I / F unit 122 that interfaces with the reader unit 1. The image data transferred from the reader unit 1 is transferred to the image data processing unit 121 via the I / F unit 122, and a control command from the reader unit 1 is transferred to the CPU 123. The image data processing unit 121 performs image processing such as image rotation processing and scaling processing on the input image data as necessary, and outputs the image data processed by the image data processing unit 121 to a reader. In accordance with the control command transferred from the unit 1, the data is transferred to the facsimile unit 4, the file unit 5, or the network I / F unit 7 via the I / F unit 120.

Further, printer data representing an image input via the network I / F unit 7 is transferred to the image data processing unit 121 and then transferred to the formatter unit 8 to be expanded into image data. After the image data is transferred to the image data processing unit 121, the image data is transferred to the printer unit 2 via the facsimile unit 4 or the I / F unit 122. The image data received by the facsimile unit 4 is transferred to the image data processing unit 121 and then to the printer unit 2, the file unit 5, or the network unit 7. The image data output from the file unit 5 is transferred to the image data processing unit 121 and then to the printer unit 2, facsimile unit 4, or network unit 7.

The CPU 123 controls the data transfer between the blocks according to the control program stored in the memory 124 and the control command transferred from the reader unit 1 and controls the execution of image processing by the image data processing unit 121. I do. The memory 124 is a ROM
And RAM, of which RAM is CPU
It is also used as a work area 123.

As described above, processing combining the functions of reading the original image, printing the image, transmitting and receiving the image, storing the image, and inputting / outputting data from / to the computer is performed mainly on the core unit 10. Is possible.

FIG. 5 shows the structure of the formatter unit 7. The formatter unit 7 includes a core I / F unit 220, a CP
U222, font ROM 223, program ROM 224, DRAM 225, image processing circuit 22
6. Video I / F circuit 227 and video clock 22
8.

Data created by an application such as a word processor on the PC client 11 is stored in a page description La such as a PS (postscript) printable by a printer by a printer driver.
nguage (PDL). The converted data is sent to the network I / F unit 7, the core unit 10, the core I / F
The data is transferred to the formatter unit 7 via the F unit 220.

This data is interpreted by the CPU 222, and an image is formed using the font ROM 223 and the DRAM 225. An image processing circuit 226 for this image
Image processing is performed, and an image is transferred from the video I / F circuit 227 to the core unit 10 in synchronization with a synchronization signal generated by the video clock 228. The transferred image data is printed by the printer unit 2. Program ROM 2
Reference numeral 24 denotes a ROM in which a program for controlling the above operation is stored. In this way, PDL such as PS
Can be printed.

The formatter 7 can be changed for each PDL, and the ROM 224 in the formatter 7
L and each version thereof, and the user can select the PDL and version according to the purpose.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the facsimile unit 4. NCU (Network Control)
l Unit) 230 is a circuit for connecting a facsimile apparatus (FAX) to the telephone, switching between telephone and facsimile, detecting a calling signal at the time of reception, and holding a DC loop signal from the telephone exchange during a call. .

MODEM (Modulator / DEM)
The modulator 231 is a modulation / demodulation circuit that converts an analog signal into a digital signal and vice versa.

Data transmitted from another FAX is NC
It is received by U230 and converted to a digital signal by MODEM 213. This data is used to convert the image to MH, M
This is data encoded by R, MMR, JBIG, or the like.
This data is decoded by the encoding / decoding circuit 236, and the image data is expanded in the DRAM 235. The resolution of this image is converted by a resolution conversion circuit 234,
The image processing circuit 237 performs image processing. The image data is transferred to the core unit 10 by the video I / F circuit 238 in synchronization with the clock generated by the video clock 239, and is printed by the printer 2.

At the time of transmission, the image data read by the reader unit 1 is transmitted via the core unit 10 to the video I / F circuit 23.
8, the video clock 239 and the image processing circuit 237 expand the data to the DRAM 235. The resolution of this data is converted by a resolution conversion circuit 234,
At 36, it is encoded into MH, MR, MMR or JBIG. The encoded data is converted into an analog signal by the MODEM 231 and transmitted through the NCU 230.

The CPU 232 is a circuit for controlling the above. Further, the program ROM 233 stores a program executed by the CPU 232. The facsimile unit 4 is detachable, and is mounted according to the user's purpose.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a program configuration in the network I / F section of the communication device. Network I
/ F unit 7 is an IP (Internet Protocol)
l) 250, TCP (Transmission Co
control protocol) / UDP (User
Datagram Protocol) 251 and a program for operating an application layer protocol 252.

The IP 250 is an Internet protocol layer that provides a service for transmitting a message from a source host to a destination host in cooperation with a relay node such as a router. The most important information for sending the message is the address of the transmission and destination, and the address of the transmission and destination is managed by the IP 250. In accordance with the address information, the IP 250 performs routing to determine a route within the network to reach the destination host.

The TCP / UDP 251 is a transport layer that provides a service for sending a message from a sending application process to a receiving application process. TCP is a connection-type service, and guarantees high reliability of communication. On the other hand, UDP
Is a connectionless service and does not guarantee reliability.

Application layer protocol 252
Specifies multiple protocols. This protocol includes a file transfer service, FTP (File T
transfer protocol), SNMP as a network management protocol, LPD as a server protocol for printer printing, WWW (World Wide)
e Web) server protocol HTTPd, e-mail transmission / reception protocol SMTP (Simple M)
mail Transfer Protocol), mail download protocol POP3 (Post Off)
ice Protocol-Version 3).

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display screen of the operation unit 115 when transmitting an image. In the figure, reading size 300
Is an area for specifying the paper size of the image read by the scanner unit 104. A5, A4, A3, B
5, B4, and automatic can be specified. By default, automatic is set.

The resolution 301 is determined by the scanner unit 104.
Is an area for specifying the resolution of the image read by.
200 × 100, 200 × 200, 200 × 400, 3
00 × 300, 400 × 400, 600 × 600 dpi
Can be selected, and 200 × 200 dpi is set by default.

When the advanced setting button 302 is pressed, a window (not shown) for specifying the scanning, such as density setting at the time of scanning, original type designation, double-sided reading, continuous page designation, image quality adjustment, etc., is displayed. Can be set.

The destination 303 is a button for inputting the destination of the e-mail. When you press this button, an alphabetic software keyboard is displayed, allowing you to enter your e-mail address. In addition, the destination can be specified from an address book (not shown) or from a one-touch key.

A subject 304 is a field for inputting a subject of an electronic mail. The text 305 is a field for inputting the text of the e-mail. The maximum transmission size 306 is the maximum size of electronic mail data at the time of electronic mail transmission, and an electronic mail exceeding this size is not transmitted.

Generally, in an e-mail server used in the Internet environment, a capacity limit of a certain size is imposed, and an error occurs when e-mail data exceeding this size is received. In addition, when sending and receiving large-sized e-mail data, a capacity limit is often set in order to avoid that the load on the e-mail server increases and the e-mail service stops. If data exceeding the set size is transmitted in an environment where the capacity of the e-mail server is limited, a transmission error occurs. To avoid this problem, a maximum transmission size 306 is provided. The numerical value set by default is 3 MByte, and the value 0
If set, it means unlimited.

The split transmission 307 is a switch for setting whether or not the electronic mail is divided and transmitted when the mail data size exceeds the maximum transmission size 306. This setting can be switched between “Yes” and “No”, and “Yes” is set by default.

The in-page division 308 is divided transmission 307
Is an item whose setting is valid only when “Yes” is set. When “No” is set, the item is shaded and the setting is invalid. When the division transmission 307 is set to “Yes”, data exceeding the transmission maximum size 306 is divided and transmitted.

The in-page division 308 is a switch for selecting, when transmitting an image composed of a plurality of pages, whether to divide by a page unit or the data size itself. If the sender knows in advance that the receiver supports this in-page splitting method, the image can be reproduced on the receiver by setting this switch to “Yes”. . On the other hand, if the sender knows in advance that the receiver does not support this in-page division reception, set this switch to “OFF” and transmit the data divided in page units. The user can form an image.

FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 are flowcharts showing the procedure of the facsimile transmission operation processing. This processing program is stored in the memory 124 in the core unit 10 and is executed by the CPU 123. Here, the images to be transmitted are the image read by the reader unit 1, the FAX reception image received by the facsimile unit 4, and the IFAX reception image received by the network I / F unit 7.

First, it is determined whether or not the image read by the reader unit 1 is transmitted (IFAX transmission) (step S1). In the case of IFAX transmission, an image is read from the reader unit 1 (step S2). On the other hand, if the transmission is not the IFAX transmission, it is determined whether or not the FAX reception image is transferred (step S3). When transferring a fax reception image, F
An AX reception process is performed (step S4). On the other hand, when the FAX reception image is not transferred, it is determined whether to transfer the IFAX reception image (step S5). When transferring an IFAX reception image, an IFAX reception process is performed (Step S
6). On the other hand, if the IFAX received image is not to be transferred, the process ends.

After reading an image from the reader unit 1 in step S2, performing FAX reception processing in step S4, or performing IFAX reception processing in step S6, a variable i (page number) to be used from now on. , J
(Transmission number), Ssize (transmission data size), Ps
value [i] (the data size of the i-th page) is set to 0
(Step S7).

Based on the From information set in the user mode (not shown), the To information from the information set in the destination 303, the Date information from the built-in clock (not shown), and the Subject information 304, A mail header is created (step S8). Further, the value 1 is added to the variable i (page number), and the page number to be processed is set to the first 1
A page is set (step S9).

The known BASE64 conversion is performed to convert the image data of the i-th page read in step S2 or the like into character data that can be transmitted by electronic mail (step S10). The data size after the BASE64 conversion is Psize [i] (page data size of the i-th page).

Ssize (transmission size) and Psize
It is determined whether the size obtained by adding [i] exceeds the maximum transmission size 306 (step S11). As a result of the comparison, if the maximum transmission size 306 is not exceeded, Ps is added to Ssize.
size [i] is added (step S12), and the created BA
The transmission data is created based on the data of SE64 or the like (step S13).

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the next page exists (step S14). If there is still a page to be processed, the process returns to step S9, and the value of the page number to be processed is set to 1
And the same processing is continued.

On the other hand, if the next page does not exist in step S14, MI indicating that the e-mail data is finished
ME information and the like are created (step S15), mail data is transmitted by SMTP transmission (step S16), and this process ends.

On the other hand, in step S11, Ps is added to Ssize.
When the data size obtained by adding the size [i] exceeds the transmission data size 306, it is determined whether or not the divided transmission 307 is set to “Yes” (step S1).
7). Here, if "not set" is set, the data size exceeds the maximum transmission size 306, so that an error is written to a transmission log (not shown) as a transmission error (step S18), and this processing is performed. finish.

On the other hand, if "Yes" is set in step S17, it is determined whether or not the intra-page division 308 is set to "Yes" (step S19). If set to "Yes", this indicates that the attached file of the e-mail is split within the file.
1 data is created (step S20), the number of data remaining after the division is substituted for the transmission data size Ssize (step S21), and the process proceeds to step S25.

On the other hand, in step S19, the in-page division 30
If No. 8 is set to "No", it is determined whether the data size Psize [i] of the i-th page exceeds the maximum transmission size 306 (step S22). If it exceeds, the maximum transmission size is 3 with only one page size
06, the transmission error processing in step S18 is performed, and this processing ends.

On the other hand, if it does not exceed in step S22, a division data creation process for creating e-mail data without performing in-page division is performed (step S23), and the transmission data size is cleared to a value of 0. The process proceeds to S25.

Thereafter, the value 1 is added to the variable j indicating the transmission number (step S25), the data is transmitted by SMTP transmission (step S26), and a mail header of the next e-mail to be transmitted is created (step S27). . Then, it is determined whether or not the next page exists (step S28). If the next page exists, the process returns to step S9. On the other hand, if the next page does not exist, the data remaining due to the intra-page division is transmitted (step S29), and this processing ends.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a dividing method when an electronic mail is divided and transmitted. FIG. 7A shows an example in which an image of three pages is divided into pages and two e-mails are transmitted. In this case, since the maximum transmission size 306 is exceeded in the middle of the third page, the part 450 up to the boundary of the maximum transmission size 306 is transmitted as the first e-mail data, and the remaining part 451 is transmitted to the second e-mail data. Send as email data.

FIG. 11B shows a three-page image.
An example is shown in which two e-mails are transmitted without dividing the page. In this case, since the maximum transmission size 306 is exceeded in the middle of the third page, the image data portion 4 of the first and second pages which does not exceed the maximum transmission size 306
52 is transmitted as the first e-mail data, and the portion 453 of the third page is transmitted as the second e-mail data.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing e-mail data that has been divided in a page in FIG. This e-mail data corresponds to the partial data created in step S20 described above. FIG. 13A shows 1
FIG. 8B shows the second e-mail data, and FIG. 7B shows the second e-mail data.

The user enters “ima” in the subject 304.
ge ", the subject of the mail data
To the item, a mail division order number (corresponding to a variable transmission number j) and a division total number are added so that the recipient can easily understand. That is, the information “1” is added to the first transmission shown in FIG. 7A, and the information “2/2” is added to the second transmission shown in FIG. As a result, Su
bject is “image 1”, “image 2 /
2 ".

The Message-ID is mail-specific data for specifying an e-mail, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), the transmission date, the hour, minute, and second of the transmission time, the transmission reception number (receive No. 0001), and the e-mail address (ifax @ figaro01.
abc. co. jp).

The transmission acceptance number is a transmission number assigned by the device at the time of transmission, is also described in a transmission log for certifying the transmission, and is a number that the user is conscious of.

When the receiver receives the transmitted data, if an error such as a part of the mail does not reach normally and a part of the id number is missing, the receiver transmits the message of the received mail. The e-mail describing the ID is returned to the sender. The transmitter can describe that an error has occurred in the transmission log based on the reception number included in the Message-ID. Also, the transmitter can resend the e-mail with the error.

Content-Type: Message
In the e / Partial; line, MIME information indicating that this mail is a file division is described. Of these, id = “receiveNo.0001ifa”
x @ figaro01. abc. co. jp "; is a division number of the division within the file, and is composed of a reception number and a mail address.

If an error such as a part of the mail does not arrive normally and a part of the id number is lost due to the insertion of the reception number, the receiver sets the M of the received mail.
The e-mail in which the message-ID is described is returned to the sender. The transmitter can describe that an error has occurred in the transmission log based on the reception number included in the Message-ID. Further, the transmitter can resend the error mail.

The number = 1 shown in the next line indicates the transmission number which is the variable j described above. In FIG. 13 (B), since the file divided and transmitted is the final file, n
number = 2; total = 2 and the total number are entered to indicate that this is the final mail data.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the e-mail data divided and transmitted in page units in FIG. 12B. This e-mail data is stored in step S23 described above.
Corresponds to the divide data created in step (1). An image composed of three pages is transmitted after being divided into two e-mails at a page boundary.

The user enters “ima” in the subject 304.
ge ", the subject of the mail data
To the items, the mail division order number (variable j) and the division total number are added so that the recipient can easily understand. FIG.
4 (A), the information “1” is added to the first transmission, and the information “2/2” is added to the second transmission. As a result, the subject is “image 1”, “image
e 2/2 ".

The Message-ID is mail-specific data for specifying an electronic mail, and includes a transmission date, hour, minute, and second of transmission time, and a reception number (receiveNo. 0).
001) and an e-mail address (ifax @ fi
garo01. abc. co. jp).

The transmission acceptance number is a transmission number assigned by the device at the time of transmission, and is described in a transmission log or the like proving that transmission has been performed, and is a number that the user is aware of.

When the receiver receives the transmitted data, if an error such as a part of the mail does not reach normally and a part of the id number is missing, the receiver transmits the message of the received mail. The e-mail describing the ID is returned to the sender. The transmitter can describe that an error has occurred in the transmission log based on the reception number included in the Message-ID. Also, the transmitter can resend the error mail.

Content-Ty shown in FIG.
pe: image / tiff; name = “0002_”
001. The line “tif” indicates that an image TIFF file is attached, and the file name is “0002_00”.
1. tif ". The upper four characters in the file name are the reception number, and the lower three characters are the first page number. Therefore, it can be seen that the reception number 0002 and the first page number are 001.

Similarly, Conten shown in FIG.
t-Type: image / tiff; name = "0"
002_003. tiff ", the file name is"
0002_001. tif ", the reception number 0002, and the top page number 003.

X-Divid; id = "recipe"
t No. 0002ifax @ figaro01. ab
c. co. jp "; indicates that data is divided and transmitted in page units, and the id number is composed of a reception number and a mail address.

When the receiver receives the data, arranges the page numbers, and prints the image, if an error occurs, such as when part of the mail does not arrive normally and part of the id number is missing, By returning this id number to the transmitter, the reception number at which the error has occurred on the transmitter side can be known, and can be reflected in the transmission log. Further, the transmitter can retransmit the file in which the error has occurred again.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the in-page division image is transmitted to the receiver corresponding to the in-page division so that the receiver can synthesize a normal image. Can work. On the other hand, by transmitting an image in page units to a receiver that does not support division within a page, the receiver can normally compose the image. Therefore,
When transferring an image using an e-mail protocol, even if large image data is divided and transmitted, it becomes possible to print in order on the receiver side.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 15 is a table showing an address book according to the second embodiment. This table is an address book in which destinations of recipients are registered as a list when transmitting an image. The address book has a destination abbreviation 500, a mail address 501, and a divided transmission 307.
And each item of the in-page division 308. The address to which the e-mail is actually sent is e-mail address 5
01.

Here, the destination abbreviation 500 is a field in which it is difficult to remember an e-mail address that is often long, so that a name that can be easily understood by the sender can be registered.

The split transmission 307 is a switch for setting whether or not the electronic mail is divided and transmitted when the mail data size exceeds the maximum transmission size 306. In this setting, "Yes" / "No" can be switched, and "Yes" is set by default.

The intra-page division 308 is performed by the division transmission 307
The setting is valid only when is set to “Yes”. When “No” is set, the item is shaded and the setting is invalid.

When the division transmission 307 is set to “Yes”, data exceeding the maximum transmission size 306 is divided and transmitted. The intra-page division 308 is a switch for selecting whether to divide a page or a data size itself when transmitting an image composed of a plurality of pages. If the sender knows in advance that the receiver supports this in-page splitting method, setting this switch to "Yes" allows the receiver to play the image. On the other hand, if the sender knows in advance that the receiver does not support this intra-page division method, set this switch to “No” and transmit the data divided on a page basis. Can form an image.

When transmitting an image, a destination is selected from the address book and transmitted. The transmission operation in this case is performed according to the procedure shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 described above. It is also possible to select a plurality of destinations from the address book as destinations, and to register destinations as a group. When a plurality of destinations are selected, the transmission operation is performed for each of the specified destinations according to the procedure shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 9, 10, and 11.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the setting for dividing / transmitting / not dividing and dividing / not dividing within a page can be changed according to the system used by the receiver. In addition, since these settings are registered in the address book, there is no need to set them each time transmission is performed. Further, in the case where the same document is transmitted to a plurality of destinations at one time,
Operability can be improved. Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, when transferring an image using an e-mail protocol, even if large image data is divided and transmitted, it is possible to print in order on the receiver side.

The above is an explanation of the embodiments of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to the configurations of these embodiments, and the functions described in the claims or the configurations of the embodiments are not limited to those described in the claims. Any configuration can be applied as long as it has the function that it has.

For example, the maximum transmission size is registered in the address book according to the second embodiment, the registered maximum transmission size is compared with the size of the image data, and the divided transmission is performed based on the comparison result. Or not, and whether or not to perform intra-page division may be determined.

The present invention can be applied to a case where the present invention is achieved by supplying a program to an apparatus using a recording medium storing software program codes for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments. Nor. In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the novel function of the present invention, and the program itself and the storage medium storing the program constitute the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the program codes shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 are stored in the ROM as a storage medium. The storage medium for supplying the program code is not limited to the ROM, and may be, for example, a floppy (registered trademark) disk,
-ROMs, CD-Rs, DVDs, magnetic tapes, nonvolatile memory cards, and the like can be used.

[0104]

According to the present invention, when an image is transferred using an e-mail protocol, even if large image data is divided and transmitted, it is possible to print in order on the receiver side.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a communication device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an image input / output device in which a reader unit 1 and a printer unit 2 are provided integrally.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a reader unit 1 of the communication device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a core unit 10 of the communication device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a formatter unit 7;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile unit 4;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a program configuration in a network I / F unit of the communication device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display screen of the operation unit 115 when transmitting an image.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a facsimile transmission operation processing procedure.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a facsimile transmission operation processing procedure following FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a facsimile transmission operation processing procedure following FIGS. 9 and 10;

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a division method when an electronic mail is divided and transmitted.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing e-mail data that has undergone intra-page division in FIG. 12 (A).

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing e-mail data divided and transmitted in page units in FIG. 12 (B).

FIG. 15 is a table showing an address book according to the second embodiment.

[Description of Signs] 1 Reader unit 4 Facsimile unit 10 Core unit 123 CPU 124 Memory 306 Maximum transmission size 307 Divided transmission 308 In-page division 3140003

Claims (20)

[Claims] 1. A communication device for transmitting an electronic mail, comprising: a size determination unit configured to determine whether a size of the electronic mail exceeds a set size; and when the size of the electronic mail exceeds the set size, A first dividing unit that divides the e-mail into page units; a second dividing unit that divides the e-mail by a predetermined size when the size of the e-mail exceeds a set size; Switching means for switching to any one of the first and second division means, and transmission means for transmitting a plurality of e-mails divided by the switched first or second division means. Communication device. 2. A registration unit in which information as to whether or not to divide and transmit, and information as to whether or not to divide in units of pages when dividing and transmitting, are registered. 2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the switching is performed in accordance with information registered in the registration unit. 3. A destination information registering unit in which information on a destination is registered, wherein the switching unit is configured to output the information based on the information on the destination registered in the destination information registering unit and the size of the e-mail.
The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication device is switched. 4. An image reading means for reading an image and converting the image data into the image data, wherein the converted image data is attached to the electronic mail as an attached file and transmitted.
The communication device as described. 5. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein a document received by facsimile through a public line or a document received through a network is attached as an attached file to the electronic mail and transmitted. 6. The M of the electronic mail to be divided and transmitted.
2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein information about the number of divisions and the order of division is added to the IME information. 7. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein reception number information described in a transmission log is commonly given to MIME information of the plurality of e-mails divided and transmitted. 8. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the first file is divided by the first division unit, number information of a first page is added to a file name of the attached file. 9. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, when the electronic mail is divided by a predetermined size by the second dividing unit, information indicating that the electronic mail is divided is added to MIME information of the electronic mail. . 10. A transmission method for transmitting an e-mail, comprising: a determination step of determining whether or not the size of the e-mail exceeds a set size; A first dividing step of dividing the e-mail into page units; a second dividing step of dividing the e-mail into predetermined sizes when the size of the e-mail exceeds a set size; A switching step of switching to any one of the second division steps; and a transmission step of transmitting a plurality of emails divided by the switched first division step or the second division step. Transmission method. 11. A registration step of registering information as to whether or not to divide and transmit, and information as to whether or not to divide into pages when the division and transmission are performed. The transmission method according to claim 10, wherein the switching is performed in accordance with the registered information. 12. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: a destination information registration step of registering information on a destination, wherein the switching step switches based on the information on the registered destination and the size of the e-mail. Item 11. The transmission method according to Item 10. 13. An image reading step of reading an image and converting the image data into the image data, wherein the converted image data is attached to the electronic mail as an attached file and transmitted.
0 transmission method. 14. The transmission method according to claim 10, wherein a document received by facsimile through a public line or a document received through a network is attached to the electronic mail as an attached file and transmitted. 15. The transmission method according to claim 10, wherein information about the number of divisions and the order of division is added to MIME information of the e-mail to be divided and transmitted. 16. The transmission method according to claim 10, wherein reception number information described in a transmission log is commonly assigned to MIME information of the plurality of e-mails transmitted in a divided manner. 17. The transmission method according to claim 10, wherein, in the case of division in page units in the first division step, number information of a first page is added to a file name of an attached file. 18. The transmission method according to claim 10, wherein in the case of division at a predetermined size in the second division step, information indicating the division is added to MIME information of the electronic mail. . 19. A storage medium holding a program code for implementing the transmission method according to claim 10. 20. A program having a program code for realizing the transmission method according to claim 10.