Facsimile communication method and facsimile machine

• US 6,731,410 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2001
• Issued: 05/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Communications Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Communications Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Saito, Kyoji, Toyoda, Kiyoshi, Bando, Tatsuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Kimberly
• Assistant Examiner(s): CARTER, TIA A
• Application Number:
  US09/773,711
• Publication Number:
  US 20020018245A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,187 Days
• Field of Search: 358/468, 358/405, 358/434, 358/524, 358/400, 358/401, 358/402, 358/442, 358/448, 358/453, 709/250, 709/206, 710/74
• US Class Current: 358/468
• 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 1/00209 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 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• 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 1/32363 at the transmitter or at the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32368 Functions of a still picture terminal memory associated with transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32771 in response to a request, e.g. for a particular document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32776 using an interactive, user-operated device, e.g. a computer terminal, mobile telephone H04N1/32782, H04N1/32784 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0015 Control of image communication with the connected apparatus, e.g. signalling capability
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0018 via a non-image communication channel, e.g. via a computer network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3207 of an address
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3221 of a job number or identification, e.g. communication number
• 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 2201/3249 data relating to a linked page or object, e.g. hyperlink

Abstract

In a facsimile communication method for transmitting facsimile data to a reception terminal from a facsimile machine via a communication network, a transmission process in the facsimile machine includes the following steps: (a) a step of saving image data of an original to be transmitted as facsimile data in a storage; (b) a step of generating access information data for access to the image data, saved in the storage, from the reception terminal via the transmission network; (c) a step of sending the access information data to the reception terminal by an e-mail; and (d) a step of transmitting the image data in the storage to the reception terminal from the facsimile machine by a communication protocol of a point-to-point data transfer form upon reception of an access request for the image data from the reception terminal.

Claims

1. An in image transmission apparatus comprising:

a storage that stores an image to be transmitted to at least one recipient;

a transmission section that transmits the image in the storage along with a program to the at least one recipient across a communication network, the program having a procedure for displaying an input image on a screen of the recipient when the recipient receives said image, and for transmission of a notification indicative of the reception of the image to the image transmission apparatus when a part of the displayed input image is clicked on;

a reception section that receives the notification transmitted from the recipient across the communication network; and

a confirmation section that utilizes the received notification to confirm a reception of said image.

2. The image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said transmission section and said reception section are comprised of a WWW server, and the WWW server transmits the image along with the program to the recipient by a communication protocol of a point-to-point data transfer upon reception of the request from the recipient.

3. The image transmission apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:

a URL generating section that generates URL used to directly request the image to the WWW server after the image is stored in said storage, said URL including a host name of said WWW server on the communication network, and a file name associated with the image stored in said storage; and

a mailing section that mails an e-mail to indicate presence of an image to be received, the e-mail comprising a header including an e-mail address of the recipient as a destination address, and a body including the generated URE and not including the image.

4. The image transmission apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the program includes a URL of said WWW server, and uses the URL to access the WWW sever when a part of the displayed input image is clicked on.

5. The image transmission apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

a deleting system that deletes the image saved in said storage,

wherein said mailing section sends the e-mail to a plurality of recipients when a multi-cast is designated, and said deleting system deletes said image saved in said storage upon confirmation that all recipients to which multicast of the e-mail has been made, have accessed the image.

6. The image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a measuring system that measures an elapsed time since saving of the image in said storage; and

a deleting system that deletes the image saved in said storage after the elapsed time exceeds a predetermined time.

7. The image transmission apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a checking system that checks if a reception terminal, which has made an access request for the image saved in said storage, has an access right; and

a permitting system that permits the recipient, which has been determined to have an access right, to access the image.

8. An image receiving apparatus comprising:

a reception section that receives an image with a program from a sender across a communication network;

a screen that displays the received image;

a processor that executes the program to display an input image on said screen when the received image has displayed on said screen; and

a transmission section that transmits a notification indicative of reception of the image to a WWW server via the communication network when a part of the displayed input image is clicked on.

9. The image receiving apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the program includes a URL of the WWW server to transmit the notification to the WWW server.

10. An image transmission method comprising:

saving an image to be transmitted to at least one recipient in a storage;

transmitting the image in the storage along with a program to the at least one recipient across a communication network, the program having a procedure for displaying an input image on a screen of the recipient when the recipient receives the image, and for transmission of a notification indicative of the reception of the image, to the image transmission apparatus, when a part of the displayed input image is clicked on;

receiving the notification transmiffed from the recipient across the communication network; and

utilizing the received notification to confirm a reception of the image.