Data communication apparatus for managing information indicating that data has reached its destination

• US 6,119,142 A
• Filed: 04/24/1996
• Issued: 09/12/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Kosaka, Masahiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Maung, Zarni
• Assistant Examiner(s): Barot, Bharat
• Application Number:
  US08/637,306
• Time in Patent Office: 1,602 Days
• Field of Search: 395/200.01, 395/200.02, 395/200.08, 395/200.2, 395/825-828, 395/200.3, 395/200.33, 395/200.43, 395/200.47-200.48, 395/200.74 , 395/200.8, 358/400, 358/468, 358/442, 370/400-402, 370/338, 370/252, 709/200, 709/203, 709/213, 709/217-218, 709/244, 709/250
• US Class Current: 709/200
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/40 for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity, e.g. service redundancy protocols, protocol state redundancy or protocol service redirection management of faults, events, alarms or notifications in data switching networks H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32106 separate from the image data, e.g. in a different computer file
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32112 in a separate computer file, document page or paper sheet, e.g. a fax cover sheet H04N1/32122 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32122 in a separate device, e.g. in a memory or on a display separate from image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3202 of communication or activity log or report
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3219 of a job status, e.g. successful execution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3271 Printing or stamping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 Transmission

Abstract

Upon transmission of document data in accordance with a transmission instruction from a client on a LAN, parameters such as a document identifier and an identifier of a receiver terminal are transmitted to a receiving-side communication apparatus. Transmission result (whether or not communication between the apparatus on both sides has been normally performed, whether or not the receiver terminal has been notified of the incoming call, whether or not the document data has been transferred to the receiver terminal, and the status of the terminal) sent from the receiving-side communication apparatus is managed in correspondence with the document identifier. Further, the transmission result is notified to the client that made the transmission instruction. The transmission-management information on plural transmission cases is print-outputted in a report format.

Claims

1. A data communication apparatus for transmitting data to a remote communication apparatus connected to a LAN (Local Area Network), the remote communication apparatus receiving and transferring the transmitted data to another destination on the LAN, comprising:

designation means for designating a destination on the LAN;

setting means for setting an identifier to specify the data;

transmission means for transmitting the data, information indicative of the destination designated by said designation means, and information indicative of the identifier set by said setting means to the remote communication apparatus; and

management means for managing information, in at least three stages, indicating whether or not the data transmitted by said transmission means has actually been transferred from the remote communication apparatus to the destination on the LAN designated by said designation means, in correspondence with the identifier set by said setting means,

wherein, in a case in which transmission of the data to the destination has failed, said management means manages information indicating a reason for failure of the transmission.

2. The data communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information managed by said management means is information transmitted from the remote communication apparatus, based on the information indicative of the identifier transmitted by said transmission means.

3. The data communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising output means for outputting the information managed by said management means.

4. The data communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said output means outputs information associated with plural sequences of transmission performed by said transmission means.

5. The data communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the destination designated by said designation means is a location to which the data is addressed on the LAN.

6. A data communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least three stages include a first stage in which the transmitted data does not reach the remote communication apparatus, a second stage in which the transmitted data reaches the remote communication apparatus but does not reach the destination, and a third stage in which the transmitted data reaches the destination.

7. A data communication apparatus connected to a LAN (Local Area Network), comprising:

reception means for receiving a transmission instruction for transmitting data from a user of the LAN;

transmission means for transmitting the data based on the transmission instruction received by said reception means; and

notification means for notifying the user, that made the transmission instruction, of a status of transmission of a transmission performed by said transmission means, wherein the status of transmission indicates a location that the data has actually reached, wherein

the location is changed in at least three stages, and

in a case in which the data has not reached a destination in a last stage of the at least three stages due to a failure, said notification means notifies the user of a reason for the failure as the status of transmission.

8. The data communication apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the transmission instruction includes information designating a user which is to receive the data on a LAN on a receiving side.

9. The data communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said notification means notifies of information about whether or not the data has been transferred to a terminal of the user on the LAN on the receiving side.

10. The data communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said notification means notifies of a status of the user on the LAN on the receiving side.

11. The data communication apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the status of the user on the LAN on the receiving side includes information about whether or not the user is logged on to the LAN on the receiving side.

12. A data communication apparatus according to claims 7, wherein the at least three stages include a first stage in which the transmitted data does not reach said reception means, a second stage in which the transmitted data reaches said reception means but is not transmitted by said transmission means, and a third stage in which the transmitted data is transmitted by said transmission means.

13. A data communication method for transmitting data to a remote communication apparatus connected to a LAN (Local Area Network), the remote communication apparatus receiving and transferring the transmitted data to another destination on the LAN, comprising the steps of:

(a) designating a destination on the LAN;

(b) setting an identifier to specify the data;

(c) transmitting the data, information indicative of the destination designated at said step (a), and information indicative of the identifier set at said step (b) to the remote communication apparatus; and

(d) managing information, in at least three stages, indicating whether or not the data transmitted at said step (c) has actually been transferred from the remote communication apparatus to the destination on the LAN designated at said step (a), in correspondence with the identifier set at said step (b),

wherein, in a case in which transmission of the data to the destination has failed, said step (d) manages information indicating a reason for failure of the transmission.

14. The data communication method according to claim 13, wherein the information managed at said step (d) is information transmitted from the remote communication apparatus, based on the information indicative of the identifier transmitted at said step (c).

15. A data communication method comprising the steps of:

(e) receiving a transmission instruction to transmit data from a user on a LAN (Local Area Network);

(f) transmitting the data based on the transmission instruction received at said step (e); and

(g) notifying the user of a status of transmission of a transmission performed at said step (f), wherein the status of transmission indicates a location that the data has actually reached, wherein

the location is changed in at least three stages, and

in a case in which the data has not reached a destination in a last stare of the at least three stages due to a failure, said step (g) notifies the user of a reason for the failure as the status of transmission.

16. The data communication method according to claim 15, wherein the transmission instruction includes information designating a user which is to receive the data on a LAN on a receiving side.

17. The data communication method according to claim 16, wherein at said step (g), notification is performed of information about whether or not the data has been transferred to a terminal of the user on the LAN on the receiving side.

18. The data communication method according to claim 16, wherein at said step (g), notification is performed of a status of the user on the LAN on the receiving side.

19. The data communication method according to claim 18, wherein the status of the user on the LAN on the receiving side includes information about whether or not the user on the LAN on the receiving side is logged on to the LAN on the receiving side.

20. A data communication apparatus for transmitting data to a remote communication apparatus connected to a LAN (Local Area Network), comprising:

transmission means for transmitting the data to the remote communication apparatus;

management means for managing information indicating a status of a transmission performed by said transmission means; and

display means for displaying graphically, by using a symbol representing stages in a sequence of transmission of the data, the status of the transmission of the data based on the information managed by said management means.

21. The data communication apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising designation means for designating a destination on the LAN, wherein said transmission means further transmits information indicative of the destination.

22. The data communication apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the information managed by said managing means indicates whether or not the data transmitted by said transmission means has reached the remote communication apparatus, and whether or not the data then has been transferred from the remote communication apparatus to a receiver.

23. The data communication apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said transmission means transmits the data to a remote facsimile apparatus.

24. A data communication apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said display means graphically displays the status of transmission of the data by changing an object representing the data transmitted by said transmission means in the symbol representing stages in the sequence of transmission of the data.

25. A data communication method comprising the steps of:

transmitting the data to a remote communication apparatus;

managing information indicating a status of the transmission performed at said transmitting step; and

graphically displaying, by using a symbol representing stages in a sequence of transmission of the data, the status of the transmission of the data based on the information managed at said managing step.

26. A computer readable storage medium storing a program for controlling a data communication apparatus to transmit data to a remote communication apparatus connected to a LAN (Local Area Network), the remote communication apparatus receiving and transferring the transmitted data to a destination on the LAN, said program comprising:

code for designating a destination on the LAN;

code for setting an identifier to specify the data;

code for transmitting the data, information indicative of the destination designated on the LAN, and information indicative of the set identifier, to the remote communication apparatus; and

code for managing information, in at least three stages, indicating whether or not the transmitted data has actually been transferred from the remote communication apparatus to the destination designated in said designating step on the LAN, in correspondence with the set identifier,

wherein, in a case in which transmission of the data to the destination has failed, said code for managing manages information indicating a reason for failure of the transmission.

27. A computer readable storage medium storing a program for controlling a data communication apparatus, said program comprising:

code for receiving a transmission instruction to transmit data from a user of a LAN (Local Area Network);

code for causing transmission of the data based on the transmission instruction received from the user of the LAN; and

code for notifying the user that made the transmission instruction of a status of transmission of the transmission of the data caused by said code for causing transmission, wherein

the status of transmission indicates a location that the data has actually reached,

the location is changed in at least three stages, and

in a case in which the data has not reached a destination in a last stage of the at least three stages due to a failure, said code for notifying notifies the user of a reason for the failure as the status of transmission.