KR20050024823A - Method and apparatus for remotely transmitting data - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method and an apparatus for remotely transmitting data are provided to allow a user of a remote area to receive data or a list of data of a desired device through a composite unit. CONSTITUTION: It is checked whether connection is attempted from a remote area(10). When connection is attempted from the remote area, it is checked whether a remote connection function has been set(12). If the remote connection function has been set, the first message is transmitted to the remote area(14). A composite unit checks whether a password received from the remote area is correct(16). If the password is correct, the second message is transmitted to the remote area(18). It is checked whether an address of the remote area is provided to the composite unit(20). If the address of the remote area is provided, it is checked whether the remote area requests transmission of data or a list of data(22). If the remote area requests transmission of data, data itself is transmitted to the remote area(26).

Description

Remote data transmission method and apparatus {Method and apparatus for remotely transmitting data}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multifunction peripheral (MFP) capable of performing printing, faxing, and scanning. In particular, the present invention relates to data of a device in a multifunction device connected to various devices. It relates to a remote data transmission method and apparatus capable of transmitting to a remote location.

The conventional data transmission method is as follows.

For example, assume that there is a first device capable of performing a facsimile function and a second device capable of also performing a facsimile function. At this time, it is assumed that the first device is a multifunction device. The central processing unit (not shown) of the all-in-one checks the ring line for incoming calls. If it is determined from the test result that there is a ring incoming, the central processing unit checks whether a polling transmission reservation is set. If it is determined based on the checked result that the polling transmission reservation is set, the central processing unit sends an OGM (Out Going Message). Here, the OGM includes information for requesting a password, destination fax number, and special code. In this case, the special code may be defined as a digit code indicating completion of input. After sending the OGM, check if the password is correct, and if it is determined that the password is correct, check whether the destination fax number and the special code are input. That is, when it is determined that the destination fax number and the special code are input through the inspection result, the central processing unit automatically dials the input destination fax number and transmits the original scheduled for polling transmission to the second device. If it is determined that the password is not correct, the central processing unit requests re-entry of the password until the number of input of the password does not exceed the set number of times.

As a result, referring to the conventional data transmission method described above, it is possible to transmit data in the form of a fax from the first device to the second device. For example, when a device such as a digital video disk player (DVDP) or a set top box (STB) is connected to the first device, the first device may meet the request of the second device. In response, there is a problem in that data of the device cannot be remotely transmitted to the second device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a remote data transmission method capable of receiving data from various types of devices and transmitting the data remotely.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a remote data transmission apparatus capable of receiving data from various types of devices and transmitting the data remotely.

In order to achieve the above object, the remote data transmission method according to the present invention is performed in a multifunction device connected to at least one device capable of having data that can be transmitted to the outside, and the data from the multifunction device to a remote location, from the remote location Determining whether the connection is attempted; if it is determined that the connection is attempted from the remote site; determining whether the remote access function is set for the user; and if it is determined that the remote access function is set for the remote site, Therefore, it is preferable that the step of transmitting the list of data or the data itself to the remote.

In order to achieve the above another object, the multifunction apparatus of the remote data transmission apparatus according to the present invention for performing the remote data transmission method, a remote attempt inspection unit for checking whether the connection is attempted from the remote site, and in response to the result of the inspection A list of data generated by searching for the device in response to the request of the remote site or reading from the device in response to the result of the function setting checking unit for checking whether the remote access function is set to the user and the function setting checking unit; It is preferable that a data transmission unit for transmitting the exported data itself to the remote site.

Hereinafter, a remote data transmission method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a remote data transmission method according to the present invention. When a connection is attempted from a remote location, a multifunction device having a remote connection function responds to a request of a remote location and remotely stores a data list or data itself. Is transmitted to the network (steps 10 to 26).

FIG. 2 is a view showing a schematic appearance of a remote data transmission apparatus for helping understanding the remote data transmission method illustrated in FIG. 1. The multifunction apparatus 40, a communication line 42, a remote location 44, a first, and a first are shown. 2,... And N-th devices 50, 52,... And 54.

The remote data transmission method shown in FIG. 1 is performed in the multifunction apparatus 40 of the remote data transmission device shown in FIG. Here, the multifunction peripheral 40 is connected to the first to Nth devices 50, 52,..., And 54. N is a positive integer of 1 or more, and each of the first to Nth devices 50, 52, ..., and 54 may have data such as an image or a document that can be transmitted to the outside. Here, the data may be input to each device from the outside, or may be a result processed by performing its own function in each device.

According to the present invention, each of the first to Nth devices 50, 52, ..., and 54 is a video camera, a set top box (STB), a digital video disc player (DVDP), and a digital still camera (DSC). Camera), and the remote location 44 may be a facsimile or a multifunction device.

The remote data transmission method according to the present invention for transmitting data from the multifunction apparatus 40 to the remote location 44 is as follows.

First, it is determined whether a connection is attempted from the remote location 44 (step 10). If it is determined that no connection is attempted from the remote location 44, the flow proceeds to step 10. However, if it is determined that the connection is attempted from the remote place 44, it is determined whether the remote connection function is set for the self (step 12). Here, the remote connection function means a function that the multifunction peripheral 40 can connect and communicate with the remote location 44 via a communication line 42, for example, a network.

If it is determined that the remote access function is not set to itself, the remote data transmission method shown in FIG. 1 ends. However, if it is determined that the remote access function is set to itself, the list of data or the data itself is transmitted to the remote 44 according to the request of the remote 44 (steps 14 to 26).

If it is determined that the remote access function is set to itself, the first message is sent to the remote location 44 (step 14). Here, the first message includes first request information for requesting a password from the remote location 44 and second request information for requesting recipient information for the remote location 44 itself. In this case, the receiver information may include an address of the remote place 44.

After the fourteenth step, the multifunction peripheral 40 determines whether the password received from the remote location 44 is correct (step 16). To this end, the remote place 44 transmits a password to the remote place that has previously allowed data transmission, and the remote place 44 transmits the password to the multifunction apparatus 40 in response to the first request information. If it is determined that the password transmitted from the remote location 44 is not correct, the process proceeds to step 14, where the password is requested again from the remote location 44 through the first message to receive the password from the remote location 44 again. have. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, the password may be received from the remote location 44 until the password is correct. If the password is wrong a predetermined number of times, unlike in FIG. 1, the remote data shown in FIG. The transmission method may be terminated. However, if it is determined that the password is correct, the second message is sent to the remote location 44 (step 18). Here, the second message has information asking whether the remote location 44 wants to receive data, or receives a list of data, or does not want to receive a list of data or data. That is, the multifunction peripheral 40 asks for the intention that the remote location 44 connected to the second device through the second message. At this time, the remote location 44 transmits its connection intention to the multifunction apparatus 40 in response to the information contained in the second message.

According to the present invention, the first message or the second message may be in a verbal form such as an OGM.

Meanwhile, the remote data transmission method shown in FIG. 1 may not provide a sixteenth step. In this case, the first message does not include the first request information, and after the fourteenth step, an eighteenth step is performed.

After step 18, it is determined whether the address of the remote location 44 is provided (step 20). In order to transmit data or a list of data to the remote location 44, the address of the remote location 44 is preferably provided to the multifunction apparatus 40. If the address of the remote location 44 is not provided from the remote location 44 to the multifunction apparatus 40, the remote data transmission method shown in FIG. 1 ends. However, if it is determined that the address of the remote 44 is provided from the remote 44 to the multifunction apparatus 40, it is determined whether the remote 44 requires the transmission of data or the transmission of the data list (22). step). If it is determined that the remote location 44 requires the transmission of the data list, the multifunction apparatus 40 transmits the data list to the remote location 44 (step 24). However, if it is determined that the remote location 44 requires the transmission of the data, the multifunction apparatus 40 transmits the data itself to the remote location 44 (step 26). At this time, according to the present invention, after the twenty-fourth step, it is determined whether the remote place 44 requests the transmission of data, and if the remote place 44 requests the transmission of the data, the twenty sixth step may be performed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the remote data transmission method may not provide a twentieth step, as shown in FIG. In this case, even without knowing the address of the remote location 44, the multifunction apparatus 40 connected to the remote location 44 may perform steps 10 to 18 and steps 22 to 26.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the remote data transmission method may provide a twentieth step as shown in FIG. In this case, the multifunction apparatus 40 knowing the address of the remote location 44 can resume communication with the remote location 44 that has requested the transmission of data or data list even after the communication with the remote location 44 has been terminated. Here, the all-in-one 40 can temporarily disconnect from the remote 44 before performing the twenty-fourth or twenty sixth step to obtain sufficient time to prepare data or a list of data to be transmitted to the remote 44. . In this case, when the data to be transmitted and the data list are prepared, step 24 or 26 is performed. In addition, when the multifunction apparatus 40 knows the address of the remote location 44, it is possible to later know the history of the remote location 44 that has transmitted the data or the data list. It is possible to recognize a remote location 44 that is not required to send data or a list of data.

3 is a flowchart for explaining another embodiment of a remote data transmission method according to the present invention, and includes a step of generating a data list (steps 70 to 78).

The remote data transmission method illustrated in FIG. 3 is performed in the multifunction apparatus 40 illustrated in FIG. 2, and generates a list of data to be transmitted to the remote location 44 as follows.

First, the multifunction apparatus 40 searches for devices that can communicate with each other among the first to Nth devices 50, 52,..., And 54, and searches for at least one device having data that can be transmitted from the searched device. Search, and create an environment in which data can be transmitted with the searched device (steps 70 and 72). In this case, the multifunction apparatus 40 may include a plurality of protocols for recognizing and searching the first to N-th Diabis (50, 52, ... and 54) of various forms. For example, the multifunction peripheral 40 searches for devices that can communicate with the device, and creates an environment in which data can be transmitted with the searched devices (step 70). After operation 70, the multifunction apparatus 40 determines whether there is a device having data that can be transmitted among devices in which the data transmission environment is established (operation 72).

If it is determined that there is no device having transmittable data, the remote data transmission method shown in FIG. 3 ends. However, if it is determined that there is a device having transmittable data, the multifunction peripheral 40 retrieves data from the device having transmittable data (step 74). For this purpose, for example, the multifunction peripheral 40 issues a data retrieval command to the device using a mutual protocol, and the device may transmit information about data it has to the multifunction apparatus 40 according to the data retrieval command.

After operation 74, the multifunction apparatus 40 generates a data list by using the searched result (operation 76). Here, the data list may be arranged by matching a title of the data and a position where data corresponding to each data title exists. At this time, according to the present invention, the title and location of the data can be generated by matching the form of a table.

After operation 76, the generated data list is converted into a form transmittable to the remote location 44 (operation 78). Here, the converted list of data is transmitted to the remote place 44 in step 24.

The remote data transmission method shown in FIG. 3 may be performed before the remote data transmission method shown in FIG. 1 is performed. In this case, the previously generated data list is stored. Alternatively, the remote data transmission method shown in FIG. 3 may be performed in the twenty-fourth step shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining another embodiment of a remote data transmission method according to the present invention, and includes data generation (90th to 100th steps).

The remote data transmission method shown in FIG. 4 is performed when performing the 26th step in the multifunction apparatus 40 shown in FIG. 2, and generates data itself to be transmitted to the remote location 44 as follows.

First, the multifunction apparatus 40 not only has data required for transmission by the remote location 44, but also searches for devices 50, 52, ..., 54 capable of communicating with itself, and transmits data with the searched devices. Create an environment (steps 90 and 92). For example, the multifunction apparatus 40 searches for a device capable of communicating with itself, and creates a communication environment, that is, an environment capable of transmitting data, with the found device (step 90). After step 90, it is determined whether there is a device having data requested for transmission by the remote location 44 (step 92).

If it is determined that the device with the data requesting the transmission does not exist, the remote data transmission method shown in FIG. 4 ends. However, if it is determined that there is a device having data requested for transmission by the remote location 44, the remote device 44 retrieves data for which the remote location 44 has requested transmission (step 94). At this time, the data retrieved from the devices 50, 52, ... or 54 are transmitted to the multifunction apparatus 40 in various ways. For example, having a transport layer, such as a wired or wireless connection, and using a compatible protocol such as PictBridge to transfer substantial data from device 50, 52, ... or 54 to multifunction device 40. Can be. Here, the wired connection method may be a universal serial bus (USB), for example, and the wireless connection method may be Bluetooth.

After step 94, it is determined whether the retrieved data is text data or image data (step 96). If it is determined that the retrieved data is text data, the text data is converted into a form transmittable to the remote location 44 (step 98). However, if it is determined that the retrieved data is image data, the image data is converted into a form that can be transmitted to the remote location 44 (step 100). At this time, the data converted in the 98th or 100th step is transmitted to the remote location 44 in the 26th step.

For example, as described above, when the data list has a data title and a location, the user of the remote location 44 designates a data title to be transmitted and transmits the data title to the multifunction apparatus 40. At this time, the multifunction peripheral 40 checks the position corresponding to the data title received from the remote location 44 through the table, and requests the device of the corresponding position to transmit data. At this time, when data is transmitted from the corresponding position, the multifunction apparatus 40 converts the data into a form suitable for transmission to the remote location 44.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of a remote data transmission apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a remote data transmission apparatus according to the present invention, and includes a remote attempt test unit 110, a function setting test unit 112, and a data transmission unit 114.

The remote data transmission apparatus illustrated in FIG. 5 may perform the remote data transmission method illustrated in FIG. 1 as follows, and may be embedded in the multifunction apparatus 40 illustrated in FIG. 2.

In order to perform the tenth step, the remote attempt checking unit 110 checks whether a connection is attempted from the remote location 44 through the input terminal IN, and outputs the checked result to the function setting checking unit 112.

In order to perform the twelfth step, the function setting checker 112 responds to the result checked by the remote attempt checker 110, that is, if it is recognized that the connection is attempted from the remote location 44, the remote access to the multifunction apparatus 40 is performed. It is checked whether a function is set, and the checked result is output to the data transmission unit 114.

For example, the roles of the remote attempt tester 110 and the function setting checker 112 may be performed by a central processing unit (not shown) of the multifunction apparatus 40. In this case, the central processing unit checks whether there is a signal or data coming from the remote place 44 through a communication line 42 such as a telephone line or a network line. At this time, if the incoming signal contains data, the central processing unit recognizes that the connection is attempted from the remote location 44 and checks whether the remote connection function is set in the multifunction apparatus 40.

In order to perform the fourteenth to twenty-sixth steps, the data transmission unit 114 responds to the result checked by the function setting inspection unit 112, that is, if it is recognized that the remote connection function is set, the request of the remote site 44 is performed. Correspondingly, the list of data generated by searching the devices 50, 52, ... and 54 or the data itself read out from the devices 50, 52, ... or 54 correspondingly and inputted through the input terminal IN The data is transmitted via the communication line 42 through the output terminal OUT at (44).

As described above, the remote data transmission method and apparatus according to the present invention, unlike the conventional multifunction device capable of only remote transmission of a fax, the multifunction device for the data or the list of data requested by the remote location 44 from various types or types of devices Since the remote can be smoothly transmitted to the remote 44 through the 40, the user of the remote 44 has an effect of receiving the data or the data list of the device to be received through the multifunction apparatus 40.

1 is a flowchart for explaining an embodiment of a remote data transmission method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a schematic appearance of a remote data transmission apparatus for helping understanding the remote data transmission method illustrated in FIG. 1.

3 is a flowchart for explaining another embodiment of a remote data transmission method according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart for explaining another embodiment of a remote data transmission method according to the present invention.

5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a remote data transmission apparatus according to the present invention.

Claims (5)

In the multi-function device is connected to at least one device capable of having data that can be transmitted to the outside, Remote data transmission method for transmitting the data from the multifunction device to a remote location, (a) determining whether a connection is attempted from the remote location; (b) if it is determined that a connection is attempted from the remote site, determining whether a remote access function is set to the remote site; And and (c) if it is determined that the remote access function is set to the remote site, transmitting the list of data or the data itself to the remote site according to a request of the remote site. The method of claim 1, wherein the data transmission method Searching for at least one device having the data and communicating with itself among the devices, and creating an environment in which data can be transmitted with the retrieved device; And Retrieving the data from the searched at least one device to generate the data list, and converting the generated data list into a form that can be transmitted to the remote site; And the converted data list is transmitted to the remote site. The method of claim 1, wherein step (c) Searching for a device capable of communicating with the remote place by sending the data requesting transmission, and creating an environment in which data can be transmitted with the retrieved device; Retrieving the data from the retrieved device; Determining whether the retrieved data is text data or image data; If it is determined that the retrieved data is the text data, converting the text data into a form that can be transmitted to the remote site; And If it is determined that the retrieved data is the image data, converting the image data into a form that can be transmitted to the remote site; And the converted form of data is transmitted to the remote location. The method of claim 1, wherein the device corresponds to a video camera, a set top box, a digital video disc player, or a digital still camera, and the remote corresponds to a facsimile or multifunction device. In the multifunction apparatus of the remote data transmission apparatus performing the remote data transmission method of claim 1, A remote attempt checking unit checking whether a connection is attempted from the remote place; A function setting inspecting unit that checks whether a remote access function is set to the user in response to the checked result; And And a data transmission unit for transmitting a list of data generated by searching for the device and data read from the device to the remote site in response to the result of the function setting inspection unit. Remote data transmission device.