Image communicating method, facsimile type electronic mail apparatus and facsimile apparatus

• US 6,493,103 B2
• Filed: 03/18/1998
• Issued: 12/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Graphic Communication Systems, Inc. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Graphic Communication Systems, Inc. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Toyoda, Kiyoshi, Bando, Tatsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Coles, Edward
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pokrzywa, Joseph R.
• Application Number:
  US09/040,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20010015819A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,728 Days
• Field of Search: H04/N.144, H04/N.132, 358/1.15, 358/400, 358/402, 358/403, 358/405, 358/448-451, 358/442, 358/468, 358/434, 358/438, 395/188.01, 380/18, 380/23, 380/30, 380/49, 380/243, 380/246, 380/281
• US Class Current: 358/1.15
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00209 Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32609 Fault detection or counter-measures, e.g. original mis-positioned, shortage of paper
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32641 of transmission or transmitted data, e.g. interruption or wrong number of pages
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32662 remotely, e.g. to the transmitter from the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/33315 reading or reproducing mode only, e.g. sheet size, resolution
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/33369 Storage of mode or retrieval of prestored mode
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3935 with modification of image resolution, i.e. determining the values of picture elements at new relative positions
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0015 Control of image communication with the connected apparatus, e.g. signalling capability
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0017 Notifying a communication result
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0067 Converting to still picture data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0068 Converting from still picture data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0086 Image transceiver H04N2201/0093 and H04N2201/0094 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0093 Facsimile machine H04N2201/0094 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3209 of a telephone number
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/33321 Image or page size, e.g. A3, A4

Abstract

A particular image written in a particular paper of a particular paper size is scanned by a scanner to produce image data, a format of the image data is changed to a mail format to change the image data to mail data, the particular paper size is added to the mail data, and the mail data is transmitted from a transmitting side to a receiving side through a LAN by an electronic mail. In the receiving side, the mail data is changed to reproduced image data, and it is judged whether or not the particular paper size of the particular paper is larger than a prescribed paper size treatable on the receiving side. In cases where the particular paper size is larger than the prescribed paper size, the reproduced image data is thinned but to produce adjusted image data, and a downsized image is printed on a prescribed paper of the prescribed paper size according to the adjusted image data. Accordingly, even though an image written in a paper of a paper size not treatable on the receiving side is transmitted from the transmitting side to the receiving side, because the image is downsized, the image can be reproduced on the receiving side.

Claims

1. An image communicating method, comprising the steps of:

inputting a password at a transmitting side;

producing image data indicating a particular image written in a particular paper at the transmitting side;

using part of the image data being transmitted to cipher the password;

selecting one or more pieces of character code data from the image data at the transmitting side;

ciphering the password at the transmitting side by using the character code data as a cipher key;

inserting the ciphered password into the image data at the transmitting side;

transmitting transmission data including the image data and the ciphered password from the transmitting side to a relay station by an electronic mail through an internet;

receiving the transmission data including the image data and the ciphered password at the relay station;

selecting the pieces of character code data from the image data of the transmission data at the relay station;

deciphering the ciphered password included in the image data at the relay station by using the character code data as the cipher key;

judging at the relay station whether or not the deciphered password agrees with a prescribed password peculiar to the relay station; and

relay-transmitting the image data from the relay station to a facsimile of a receiving side to reproduce the particular image at the receiving side in cases where the deciphered password agrees with the prescribed password.

2. An image communicating method according to claim 1 in which the step of inputting a pass-word includes the step of

inputting a character stream instructing a facsimile transmission and a facsimile number designating the facsimile of the receiving side, and the step of relay-transmitting the image data from the relay station to a facsimile of a receiving side includes the step of

determining a facsimile transmission of the image data according to the character stream, and

determining the facsimile of the receiving side, to which the image data is transmitted, according to the facsimile number.

3. An image communicating method according to claim 1 in which the step of judging in the relay station includes the steps of

judging whether or not a particular paper size of the particular paper in which the particular image is written is larger than a prescribed paper size treatable on the receiving side, and

adjusting the image data to reproduce the particular image on a paper of a prescribed paper size treatable on the receiving side in cases where the particular paper size is larger than the prescribed paper size.

4. An image communicating method according to claim 1 in which the step of relay-transmitting the image data from the relay station to a facsimile of a receiving side includes the steps of

judging in the relay station whether or not an error occurs in the relay-transmission of the image data to the facsimile of the receiving side, and

informing the transmitting side that an error occurs in cases where the error occurs in the relay transmission of the image data to the facsimile of the receiving side.

5. An image communicating method according to claim 1 in which the step of relay-transmitting the image data from the relay station to a facsimile of a receiving side includes the steps of

informing the transmitting side that an error occurs in cases where the deciphered pass-word does not agrees with the prescribed pass-word.

6. An image communicating method according to claim 1 in which date information indicating a transmission date is included in the transmission data.

7. A facsimile type electronic mail apparatus, comprising:

inputting means of a transmitting side for inputting a password;

reading means of the transmitting side for reading a particular image written in a particular paper of a particular paper size to produce image data indicating the particular image;

ciphering means of the transmitting side using part of the image data to cipher the password, said ciphering means selecting one or more pieces of character code data from the image data produced by the reading means, ciphering the password input by the inputting means by using the character code data from the image data as a cipher key to produce a ciphered password and inserting the ciphered password in the image data;

transmitting means of the transmitting side for transmitting transmission data including the image data produced by the reading means to a relay station by an electronic mail through an internet;

receiving means of the relay station for receiving the transmission data including the image data and the ciphered password through the internet;

deciphering means of the relay station for extracting the ciphered password added to the image data, selecting the pieces of character code data from the image data and deciphering the ciphered password by using the character code data as the cipher key to produce a deciphered password;

judging means of the relay station for judging whether or not the deciphered password agrees with a prescribed password peculiar to the relay station; and

facsimile communicating means of the relay station for relay-transmitting the image data received by the receiving means to a facsimile of a receiving side to reproduce the particular image at the receiving side in cases where it is judged by the judging means that the deciphered password agrees with the prescribed password.

8. A facsimile type electronic mail apparatus according to claim 7 in which a character stream instructing a facsimile transmission and a facsimile number designating the facsimile are input by the inputting means, a facsimile transmission of the image data is determined by the judging means according to the character stream, and the facsimile to which the image data is transmitted by the facsimile communicating means is determined by the judging means according to the facsimile number.

9. A facsimile type electronic mail apparatus according to claim 7 in which it is judged by the judging means whether or not the particular paper size of the particular paper is larger than a prescribed paper size treatable on the receiving side,

the facsimile type electronic mail apparatus further comprises

adjusting means of the relay station for adjusting the image data to produce adjusted image data indicating a downsized particular image reproducible on a paper of the prescribed paper size in cases where it is judged by the judging means that the particular paper size is larger than the prescribed paper size, and

the adjusted image data produced by the adjusting means is transmitted to the facsimile of the receiving side by the facsimile communicating means to reproduce the downsized particular image on the receiving side.

10. A facsimile type electronic mail apparatus according to claim 7 in which an address of the transmitting side is input by the inputting means, the address of the transmitting side is transmitted to the relay station with the mail data as header information of the electronic mail by the transmitting means, and

error information is transmitted from the relay station to the transmitting side according to the header information in cases where an error occurs in the relay-transmission of the image data performed by the facsimile communicating means.

11. A facsimile type electronic mail apparatus according to claim 7 in which date information indicating a transmission date is included in the transmission data used by the ciphering means.

12. A facsimile type electronic mail apparatus, comprising:

inputting-means for inputting a pass-word and print data which is reproducible in a particular paper and is transmitted from a terminal to a transmitting side through a local area network;

ciphering means for ciphering the pass-word input by the inputting means on the transmitting side to produce a ciphered pass-word;

inserting means for inserting the ciphered pass-word ciphered by the ciphering means, an electronic mail address indicating an error information receiving apparatus and a facsimile number indicating a facsimile into the print data input by the inputting means on the transmitting side;

transmitting and receiving means for transmitting the print data, in which the ciphered pass-word, the electronic mail address and the facsimile number are inserted by the inserting means, by an electronic mail on the transmitting side and receiving the print data through an internet on a receiving side;

print data analyzing means for analyzing the print data received by the transmitting and receiving means on the receiving side to extract the ciphered pass-word, the facsimile number and the electronic mail address from the print data;

deciphering means for deciphering the ciphered pass-word extracted by the print data analyzing means on the receiving side to produce a deciphered pass-word;

facsimile communicating means for transmitting the print data to the facsimile, which is indicated by the facsimile number extracted by the print data analyzing means, to output the print data; and

control means for judging whether or not the deciphered pass-word deciphered by the deciphering means agrees with a prescribed pass-word peculiar to the receiving side, judging whether or not an error occurs in the transmission of the print data performed by the facsimile communicating means and informing the error information receiving apparatus, which is indicated by the electronic mail address extracted by the print data analyzing means, of the occurrence of an error by an electronic mail through the local area network in cases where the error occurs in the transmission of the print data to the facsimile and the deciphered pass-word agrees with the prescribed pass-word.

13. A method for transmitting image data, comprising the steps of:

inputting a password at a transmitting side;

producing image data indicating a particular image written in a particular paper;

using part of the image data being transmitted to cipher the password;

selecting at least one piece of character code data from the image data;

ciphering the password by using the selected character code data as a cipher key;

inserting the ciphered password into the image data;

transmitting transmission data including the image data and the ciphered password from the transmitting side to a relay station by an electronic mail through an internet.

14. A method for receiving image data, comprising the steps of:

receiving transmission data including image data and a ciphered password at a relay station by electronic mail through an internet, said ciphered password being ciphered at a transmitting side by using at least one piece of character code data contained in said image data as a cipher key;

selecting the at least one piece of character code data from the image data of the transmission data;

deciphering the ciphered password included in the image data by using the selected character code data as the cipher key;

judging whether or not a deciphered password agrees with a prescribed password peculiar to the relay station; and

relay-transmitting the image data to a facsimile of a receiving side to reproduce a particular image at the receiving side in cases where the deciphered password agrees with the prescribed password.