JP3684772B2 - Communication terminal device with electronic mail function and program recording medium thereof - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a communication terminal apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus with an e-mail function, and more particularly to a communication terminal apparatus with an e-mail function that simplifies an operation at the time of e-mail transmission and a program recording medium thereof.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, a wide range of computer communication networks configured by connecting LANs and individual personal computers to communication lines such as telephone lines have become widespread. The computer communication network includes the Internet and a personal computer communication service network. The personal computer communication service network includes NIFTY-Serve (hereinafter referred to as “Nifty”), PC-VAN, and the like. Hereinafter, each of these computer communication networks is referred to as a network type. Communication between different networks with different network types is also possible.
[0003]
When using a computer communication network, there are a plurality of providers (providers) that provide services such as connection to the computer communication network, rather than communicating directly from the user to the other party. Communication is performed via a computer (server) owned by the provider. In the personal computer communication service network, there is a host that supervises the service, and the user communicates through the host computer. When using a computer communication network, a user connects a line to an access point of a provider or a host, and then performs a procedure called login in order to be authenticated as a contractor. For login, it is necessary to input a user name (user ID) and a password known only to the user. By this login, its own communication terminal device is logically connected to the computer communication network.
[0004]
There are various contents of the service, but here, e-mail on the Internet will be described. The user transmits the data to be communicated as a stored electronic mail to an electronic mail having a predetermined format. In the e-mail, the e-mail address (e-mail address) of the user to be transmitted and the e-mail address of the other party are described. These e-mail addresses include information indicating the respective providers. The e-mail is stored in the mailbox of the provider contracted by the other user. The recipient's user, who is the recipient, can retrieve the e-mail from this mailbox in a timely manner. Note that a user name (user ID) expressed in a character string based on a domain name system (DNS) is used as an e-mail address instead of an IP (Internet Protocol) address expressed only in numerical values.
[0005]
The advantages of the computer communication network are that it employs a communication method with an excellent error correction function, and that the user can communicate with a remote partner simply by paying the communication cost to the nearest contract provider or access point. Is mentioned.
[0006]
On the other hand, facsimile communication for communicating image data using a telephone line has been widely used, and a communication procedure and communication method for this purpose have been established. Since the communication procedure and communication method of facsimile communication are different from those of a computer communication network, a conventional facsimile apparatus cannot be connected to the computer communication network. Therefore, the present applicant has proposed a facsimile apparatus with an e-mail function in which the facsimile apparatus has a function such as communication by converting image data into an e-mail format.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the facsimile apparatus is often shared in an office or the like in addition to personal use. When a facsimile machine with an e-mail function is jointly used, there are a plurality of users and the network types to be used vary, so each time an e-mail is sent, the provider or access point with which each user contracts Calling the phone and logging in the sending user. For login, it is necessary to input a user name (user ID) and a password known only to the user. In addition, since the user's address to send and the address of the other party are described in the e-mail, it is also necessary to input these addresses. E-mail addresses on the Internet have many digits and contain English letters and symbols in addition to numbers, making it complicated to input.
[0008]
Further, since the network type of the other party is also various, for example, communication between different networks such as Nifty to the Internet and Internet to Nifty occurs. In this case, an operation for processing the e-mail address for communication between different networks is required.
[0009]
The same problem arises not only in the facsimile apparatus but also in the communication terminal apparatus with an electronic mail function that is used jointly.
[0010]
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication terminal device that solves the above-described problems and simplifies the operation at the time of e-mail transmission.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a function of registering a user number, a user ID, a password and a network type of each user for joint use in a user table, and a plurality of destinations. A function to register with each network type and a function to obtain the user ID, password and network type of the user from the user table by inputting the code number, and to send an e-mail by inputting the code number And a function for processing the address of the e-mail for communication between different networks when the network types of the user and the other party of the e-mail are different.
[0012]
For address processing, a character string for communication between different networks may be registered in advance, and this character string may be added to the destination address according to the network type.
[0013]
In addition, the program recording medium includes a code number for identifying individual users to be shared , a procedure for registering the user ID, password, and network type of the user in the user table, and a plurality of destinations in each network. A procedure for registering together with a type, a procedure for obtaining the user ID, password and network type of the user from the user table by inputting the code number, and a user who transmits an e-mail by inputting the code number And a procedure for processing the address of the e-mail for communication between different networks when the network type of the e-mail is different from that of the other party of the e-mail.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the communication terminal apparatus is a facsimile apparatus with an electronic mail function having a G3, G4 facsimile communication function and an electronic mail function. FIG. 1 shows an operation flow of the facsimile apparatus. That is, FIG. 1A shows a flow of a registration operation for registering a user, a partner, a network type, and the like, and FIG. 1B shows a flow of a transmission operation for sending an e-mail. FIG. 2 shows various tables provided in the facsimile apparatus. 2A is a user table T1 for registering users, FIG. 2B is a destination table T2 for registering destinations, and FIG. 2C is a character string for communication between different networks. FIG. 2D shows an access table T4 for registering a telephone number of a provider or an access point. FIG. 3 shows a circuit configuration of the facsimile apparatus.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 3, the facsimile apparatus includes a main control unit 1, a reading unit 2, a recording unit 3, a display unit 4, an operation unit 5, an external storage reading unit 6, a ROM 7, a RAM 8, an image memory 9, a modem 10, It consists of an NCU 11 and a data modem 12.
[0016]
The main control unit (CPU) 1 controls each part of the hardware through the bus 13, and software (program) such as encoding / decoding, image (TIFF) conversion, binary text conversion, mail editing, auto dialer communication procedure, etc. Can be executed. In addition, the registration operation and transmission operation program according to the present invention can be executed.
[0017]
The reading unit 2 can read a document with an image pickup device such as a CCD and generate monochrome binary image data.
[0018]
The recording unit 3 includes an electrophotographic printer or the like, and can record (print out) image data received by facsimile communication from another G3 or G4 facsimile apparatus or image data acquired by e-mail.
[0019]
The display unit 4 includes a display such as an LCD display, and can display the operation status, image data, registered contents, operation instructions, and the like of the facsimile apparatus.
[0020]
The operation unit 5 includes a numeric keypad for inputting numbers, an abbreviated dial key for performing an abbreviated dial operation, a one-touch key for performing a one-touch operation, various function keys, a start key, and the like. The function keys have functions such as telephone number / e-mail address registration mode setting and communication method selection. The numeric keys, speed dial keys, and one-touch keys also have a function for inputting letters such as alphabets.
[0021]
The external storage reading unit 6 can read a program or the like recorded in an external storage medium (program storage medium) 14 such as a floppy disk or CDROM. Therefore, the program executed by the main control unit can be provided from the external storage medium 14.
[0022]
The ROM 7 stores a program executed by the main control unit to operate the facsimile apparatus, that is, a program recording medium.
[0023]
The RAM 8 includes an SRAM, a flash memory, and the like, and stores temporary data generated when the program is executed and stores various registered data in a table format. It is also possible to store a program obtained from an external storage and execute it.
[0024]
The image memory 9 is composed of a DRAM and stores image data.
[0025]
The modem 10 has a fax modem function and is used when image data is transmitted by facsimile.
[0026]
An NCU (Network Control Unit) 11 can close and open an analog line.
[0027]
The data modem 12 has a data modem function and is used when image data is communicated by electronic mail. The data modem 12 is connected to an external telephone terminal of the NCU, and is connected to a serial port of the external interface 15 by RS232C. In G4 communication, it is connected to an ISDN line via a DSU (data line terminator) (not shown).
[0028]
Next, a program executed by the main control unit will be described.
[0029]
In encoding / decoding, image data is encoded and decoded by an encoding method such as MH, MR, MMR, or the like. Hereinafter, image data encoded by these encoding methods is referred to as G3 format image data. The image memory stores the G3 format image data.
[0030]
In image conversion, G3 format image data is converted to TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) image data used in a general computer at the time of transmission, and TIFF image data is converted to G3 format image data at the time of reception. TIFF is a format published by Adobe System, and various CLASSes that handle monochrome binary, monochrome multi-value, full color, and the like are defined. CLASS F, which is one of them, defines G3 format image data, which is image data of a document encoded by an encoding method such as MH, MR, or MMR. Therefore, it is possible to convert to TIFF image data by adding CLASS F TIFF header information to the head of the G3 format image data.
[0031]
In binary text conversion, binary data is converted to text data at the time of transmission, and text data is converted to binary data at the time of reception. There are computers on the Internet that cannot handle binary data e-mail. When binary data such as TIFF image data is transmitted so that the e-mail is surely delivered to the other party, it is once converted into text data. Text data handled on the Internet is defined as a 7-bit code in RFC (Request For Comments) 822, which is a document issued by IETF (Intenet Engineering Task Force). Here, the conversion is performed using the base 64 of MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions). According to this, 6-bit binary data is replaced with one of 64 characters (upper and lower case alphabets, numbers, +, /) and converted to text data. MIME is defined by RFC1521 and the like.
[0032]
In mail editing, mail header information is added to the TIFF image data converted to text data at the time of transmission and edited into an email format. Upon reception, the mail header information is removed from the data in the email format and converted to text data. Only the processed TIFF image data is extracted. Since it is stipulated that predetermined header information is added to e-mail on the Internet as e-mail management information, at the time of transmission, “From: (user address) is added at the beginning of the TIFF image data converted into text data. ) ”,“ To: (destination address) ”,“ Subject: (title) ”and the like are added. In the present invention, in the case of communication between different networks, a prefix is added to the destination address.
[0033]
In the auto dialer, telephone number data is sent to the NCU in order to call the telephone number read from the table.
[0034]
The registration operation and e-mail transmission operation program according to the present invention will be described in detail later.
[0035]
Next, the configuration of the table will be described.
[0036]
As shown in FIG. 2A, the user table T1 includes a code number for identifying individual users who jointly use the facsimile apparatus, the user ID and password of the user, and the network type used by the user. Consists of. Therefore, if a user who intends to send an e-mail from now on enters a code number, the user ID, password and network type can be obtained.
[0037]
As shown in FIG. 2B, the partner table T2 includes a partner name, a partner e-mail address, and a network type used by the partner. Therefore, if the name of the other party to which the e-mail is to be transmitted is input, the e-mail address and the network type can be obtained.
[0038]
As shown in FIG. 2C, the prefix table T3 includes a FROM (transmission side) network type, a TO (reception side) network type, and a prefix. Therefore, a necessary prefix can be obtained from the network type between the user who sends the e-mail and the other party of the e-mail.
[0039]
As shown in FIG. 2D, the access table T4 includes a telephone number and a network type. Therefore, the telephone number of the calling provider or access point can be obtained from the network type used for transmission.
[0040]
In each of the above tables, the user's personal name, destination short number, destination one-touch, facsimile telephone number, facsimile type, provider name, etc. may be registered together.
[0041]
Next, the registration operation will be described with reference to FIG.
[0042]
When the registration mode is set by the function key of the operation unit, a registration operation program is started, and the display unit and the operation unit can be used for the registration operation. At this time, in the present invention, the network type is also registered in addition to the user ID and password of the user (S1). The network type is also registered in addition to the address of the other party (S2). The network type is presented by selecting a plurality of candidates prepared in advance, and a new network type not included in the candidates can be registered. Data input by the registration operation is stored in the user table T1, the counterpart table T2, and the access table T4. In addition, the prefix table T3 can be prepared in advance for the above candidates, but for a new network type, a new prefix in which FROM and TO are replaced is registered for each of the existing network types. Will do.
[0043]
Next, an e-mail transmission operation will be described with reference to FIG.
[0044]
When the e-mail transmission mode is set by the function key of the operation unit, a program for e-mail transmission operation is started, and the display unit and the operation unit can be used for e-mail transmission operation. The user who intends to send an e-mail inputs his code number (S3). The user ID, password, and network type are immediately obtained from the user table T1. That is, the network type Net1 on the transmission side is fixed. Next, the user inputs a partner name or operates a shortened number key or a one-touch key (S4). The e-mail address and network type are immediately obtained from the destination table T2. That is, the network type Net2 on the receiving side is determined. After that, when the start key of the operation unit is operated, e-mail editing is started through reading of a document, accumulation in an image memory (G3 format image data), TIFF conversion, and MIME conversion (S5). At this time, if Net1 and Net2 are the same, there is no need to process the destination address. If Net1 and Net2 are different, the corresponding suffix is extracted from the prefix table T3 and added to the destination address (S6). For example, when transmitting from the Nifty to the Internet, “INET:” is added to the head of the destination address.
[0045]
Thereafter, the telephone number of the provider or access point is read from the access table T4 and is called. The user ID and password are read from the user table T1 and logged in. Then, an e-mail is transmitted.
[0046]
A specific example will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, there are facsimile apparatuses 41, 42, and 43 with an electronic mail function, which can perform facsimile transmission / reception with each other through a telephone line. The facsimile machines 41 and 42 are connected to the Internet 46 via the servers 44 and 45, and the facsimile machines 41 and 43 are connected to the personal computer communication service network 47. 44a, 45a, 47a are mailboxes. The facsimile machine 41 can be used by users A and B. User A has a contract with the server 44 and can access the Internet 46. User B subscribes to the personal computer communication service network 47. Here, when the user A transmits image data to the facsimile apparatus 43 by e-mail or when the user B transmits image data to the facsimile apparatus 42 by e-mail, as described above, Since the network type is different from that of the other party, a prefix is added to the other party address.
[0047]
FIG. 5 shows an example of an address with a prefix added.
[0048]
5A is used for communication from Nifty to the Internet. The thing of FIG.5 (b) is used for the communication from Nifty to CIS. 5C is used for communication from the CIS to the Internet.
[0049]
The present invention is not limited to a facsimile apparatus, and the above procedure can be recorded on a program recording medium and provided to a communication terminal apparatus equipped with a computer.
[0050]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention exhibits the following excellent effects.
[0051]
(1) Since the communication terminal apparatus determines whether or not the communication is between different networks, the user need not be aware of the network type.
[0052]
(2) Since communication terminal devices process addresses during communication between different types of networks, there is no need for the user to operate and no mistakes are made.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a flowchart of registration and e-mail transmission operations according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of various tables provided in the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a circuit configuration diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram in which a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention is connected to a computer communication network.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an e-mail address processed according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main control part 2 Reading part 3 Recording part 4 Display part 5 Operation part 6 External storage reading part 7 ROM (program recording medium)
8 RAM
9 Image memory 10 Modem 11 NCU
12 Data modem 14 External storage medium (program recording medium)
S1 Step of registering a user with a network type S2 Step of registering a destination with a network type S6 Step of processing a destination address for communication between different networks T1 User table T2 Partner table T3 Prefix table

Claims (3)

Code number and user ID of the user to identify the individual users to interoperate, a function of registering the password and network type in the user table, a function of registering a plurality of destination with each network type, the The function of obtaining the user ID, password and network type of the user from the user table by inputting the code number, the user who transmits the e-mail by inputting the code number, and the destination of the e-mail A communication terminal device with an e-mail function, comprising a function of processing an e-mail address for communication between different networks when different network types are used.   2. The communication with an electronic mail function according to claim 1, wherein the address processing is performed by registering a character string for communication between different networks in advance and adding the character string to a destination address according to a network type. Terminal device. A procedure of registration code number and user ID of the user to identify the individual users to interoperate, password and network type in the user table, and procedures for registering a plurality of destination with each network type, the The procedure for obtaining the user ID, password, and network type of the user from the user table by entering the code number, the user who sends the email by entering the code number, and the destination of the email A program recording medium in which a computer readable record of a procedure for processing an e-mail address for communication between different networks when the network types are different.

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