Telecommunication apparatus having a capability of translation

• US 5,701,497 A
• Filed: 10/26/1994
• Issued: 12/23/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Narumi, Chihiro, Ooguro, Yoshihisa, Ezaki, Takashi, Kudo, Shozo, Hikichi, Naoto, Tamura, Hiroshi, Yamauchi, Satoshi, Tsumura, Naoki, Katooka, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): WONG, ALBERT KANG
• Application Number:
  US08/330,073
• Time in Patent Office: 1,154 Days
• Field of Search: 364/419.01-419.04, 379/90, 379/100, 379/402, 358/400, 358/403, 382/2, 395/840, 395/285, 395/753
• US Class Current: 704/3
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00127 Connection or combination of a still picture apparatus with another apparatus, e.g. for storage, processing or transmission of still picture signals or of information associated with a still picture
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32117 in a separate transmission or protocol signal prior to or subsequent to the image data transmission, e.g. in digital identification signal [DIS], in non standard setup [NSS] or in non standard field [NSF] for mode signalling H04N1/333
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3243 of type information, e.g. handwritten or text document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 Transmission

Abstract

A telecommunication apparatus includes a translation unit for translating a received document from a source language to a target language and discriminates the source language based upon a protocol message transmitted from a remote terminal for setting up a connection.

Claims

1. A telecommunication apparatus, comprising:

communication means for communicating with a remote terminal according to a communication protocol;

storage means for storing information received by said communication means, said information corresponding to a document and including at least one of image data and text data, said image data and text data forming said document written in a source language; and

translation means for translating said document from said source language to a target language,

wherein said communication protocol includes a facsimile protocol;

said telecommunication apparatus further includes character recognition means for converting image data included in said information to corresponding text data, said character recognition means thereby distinguishing said image data from said text data in said information based upon said communication protocol;

said translation means has a capability of carrying out a translation in one or more language systems, each of said language systems including a source language and a target language; and

wherein said translation means includes;

language identification means for identifying the source language from a command used in said communication protocol for notifying, to said telecommunication apparatus, of a terminal identification number identifying a terminal that is sending said information to said telecommunication apparatus, said translation means selectively activating a translation according to a language system that includes said source language thus identified by said language identification means.

2. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said translation means identifies said source language based upon a TSI command of a G3 facsimile protocol, said TSI command including said terminal identification number.

3. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said translation means identifies said source language based upon a description in a SETUP command of a G4 facsimile protocol, said SETUP command including said terminal identification number.

4. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said translation means identifies said source language based upon a description in a CSS command of a G4 facsimile protocol, said description including said terminal identification number.

5. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunication apparatus notifies to said remote terminal about a non-standard procedure that is supported by said communication protocol at a side of said telecommunication apparatus, said nonstandard procedure at said telecommunication apparatus including a description of a language system that is used in said telecommunication apparatus for creating a document, and wherein said telecommunication apparatus is notified from said remote terminal about a non-standard procedure that is supported by said communication protocol at a die of said remote terminal, said non-standard procedure at said remote terminal including a description of a language that is used in said remote terminal for creating a document, said communication protocol being used commonly between said telecommunication apparatus and said remote terminal.

6. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunication apparatus and said remote terminal that communicates with said telecommunication apparatus commonly support a G3 facsimile protocol,

wherein said telecommunication apparatus notifies to said remote terminal about a non-standard procedure that is supported by said G3 facsimile protocol at a side of said telecommunication apparatus, said non-standard procedure at said telecommunication apparatus including a description of a language that is used in said telecommunication apparatus for creating a document, and

wherein said telecommunication apparatus is notified from said remote terminal about said non-standard procedure that is supported by said G3 facsimile protocol at a side of said remote terminal, and nonstandard procedure at said remote terminal including a description of a language that is used in said remote terminal for creating a document.

7. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunication apparatus and said remote terminal that communicates with said telecommunication apparatus commonly support a G4 facsimile protocol,

wherein said telecommunication apparatus notifies to said remote terminal about a non-standard procedure that is supported by said G4 facsimile protocol at a side of said telecommunication apparatus, said non-standard procedure at said telecommunication apparatus including a description of a language that is used in said telecommunication apparatus for creating a document, and

wherein said telecommunication apparatus is notified from said remote terminal about a non-standard procedure that is supported by said G3 facsimile protocol at a side of said remote terminal, said non-standard procedure at said remote terminal including a description of a language that is used in said remote terminal for creating a document.

8. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said telecommunication apparatus further includes character recognition means for recognizing characters from image data, wherein said telecommunication apparatus further includes discrimination means for discriminating, based upon said communication protocol, whether or not said information from said remote terminal, received by said communication means, is given in the form of image data or not, and wherein said telecommunication apparatus activates said character recognition means when said information is given in the form of image data.

9. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said telecommunication apparatus further includes discrimination means for discriminating whether or not said information from said remote terminal received by said communication means is given in the form of plain text data based upon said communication protocol, said telecommunication apparatus further including extraction means for extracting a plain text when said information is given in the form other than said plain text data.

10. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunication apparatus further includes recipient recognition means for recognizing a recipient of a transmission directed to said telecommunication apparatus, user administration means for administrating users of said telecommunication apparatus, dictionary administration means for administrating dictionaries used by said translation means, and translation condition setting means for setting a condition of translation carried out by said translation means.

11. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunication apparatus further includes sender recognition means for recognizing a sender of a transmission directed to said telecommunication apparatus, user administration means for administrating users of said telecommunication apparatus, dictionary administration means for administrating dictionaries used by said translation means, and translation condition setting means for setting a condition of translation carried out by said translation means.

12. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunication apparatus further includes sender recognition means for recognizing a sender of a transmission directed to said telecommunication apparatus and dictionary administration means for administrating dictionaries used by said translation means.

13. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunication apparatus includes a dictionary that includes a content common to a dictionary of a transmission side telecommunication apparatus.

14. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunication apparatus includes administration means for administrating users of said telecommunication apparatus and file boxes assigned to each of said users.

15. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunication apparatus further includes first output means as a part of said translation means for outputting said information received by said communication means and corresponding to said document with said source language, second output means as a part of said translation means for outputting said information received by said communication means and corresponding to said document with said target language, and selection means for activating one or both of said first and second output means.

16. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein said first and second output means output said information received by said communication means and corresponding to said document such that said information output from said first output means and said information output from said second output means are recorded on a common recording medium in a corresponding relationship, respectively in said source language and said target language.

17. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 15, wherein said first and second output means output said information such that an output of said first output means is recorded on a first side of a sheet with said source language and an output of said second output means is recorded on a second, opposite side of said sheet with said target language.

18. A telecommunication apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said telecommunication apparatus includes first output means for outputting said document on a sheet with said source language based upon said information received from said remote terminal by said communication means, comparison means for reading said document recorded on said sheet and for comparing said document with information in said storage means, and extraction means for extracting a part of said document that disagrees with said information held in said storage means, wherein said translation means translates only said extracted part of said document.

19. A telecommunication system comprising:

a network for carrying a traffic of communication;

a first telecommunication apparatus connected to said network for communication;

a second telecommunication apparatus connected to said network for communication;

each of said first and second telecommunication apparatuses comprising;

communication means for communicating with a remote terminal according to a communication protocol;

storage means for storing information received by said communication means, said information corresponding to a document and including at least one of image data and text data, said image data and text data forming said document written in a source language; and

translation means for translating said document from said source language to a target language, said translation means including a dictionary describing a correspondence between said source language and said target language, wherein said communication protocol includes a facsimile protocol;

said telecommunication apparatus further includes character recognition means for converting image data included in said information to corresponding text data, said character recognition mean thereby distinguishing said image data from said text data in said information based upon said communication protocol;

said translation means has a capability of carrying out a translation in one or more language systems, each of said language systems including a source language and a target language; and

wherein said translation means includes;

language identification means for identifying the source language from a command used in said communication protocol for notifying, to said telecommunication apparatus, of a terminal identification number identifying a terminal that is sending said information to said telecommunication apparatus, said translation means selectively activating a translation according to a language system that includes said source language thus identified by said language identification means;

wherein said dictionary of said first telecommunication apparatus and said dictionary of said second telecommunication apparatus contain the same content.

20. A translation apparatus for translating a given document written with a source language to a target language, comprising:

outputting means for recording said document on a sheet with said source language;

storing means for storing said document in said source language;

reading means for reading a document on a sheet, said reading means reading said document recorded on said sheet with said source language;

comparison means for comparing the document read by said reading means with said document stored in said storing means, for detecting a discrepancy between said document read by said reading means and said document stored in said storing means;

extraction means for extracting a part of said given document wherein a discrepancy is detected by said comparison means; and

translation means for translating said part of said document.

21. A telecommunication apparatus, comprising:

communication means for communicating with a remote terminal according to a communication protocol;

storage means for storing information to be transmitted by said communication means, said information corresponding to a document and including at least one of image data and text data, said image data and text data forming said document written in a source language;

translation means for translating said document from said source language to a target language,

wherein said communication protocol includes a facsimile protocol;

said telecommunication apparatus further includes character recognition means for converting image data included in said information to corresponding text data, said character recognition means thereby distinguishing said image data from said text data in said information based upon said communication protocol;

said translation means has a capability of carrying out a translation in one or more language systems, each of said language systems including a source language and a target language; and

wherein said translation means includes;

language identification means for identifying the source language from a command used in said communication protocol for notifying, to said telecommunication apparatus, of a terminal identification number identifying a remote terminal to which said information is to be sent from said telecommunication apparatus, said translation means selectively activating a translation according to a language system that includes said source language thus identified by said language identification means;

said communication means thereby transmitting said information to said remote terminal with a translation of said document in said target language.