NETWORK THAT CONVERTS DATA FROM A FIRST FORMAT INTO A SECOND FORMAT FOR COMMUNICATION, DATA COMMUNICATION APPARATUS CAPABLE OF COMMUNICATION OF DATA IN A FIRST FORMAT, COMMUNICATION SYSTEM INCORPORATING ALL THE ABOVE, AND CONTROL METHOD FOR ALL THE ABOVE

• US 6,826,625 B1
• Filed: 12/17/1999
• Issued: 11/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Ayutthaya Limited (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Takeda, Tomoyuki, Nishii, Teruyuki, Miura, Shigeo, Yoshida, Takehiro, Fujise, Shunichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Hosain
• Assistant Examiner(s): Qureshi, Shabana
• Application Number:
  US09/465,391
• Time in Patent Office: 1,810 Days
• Field of Search: 709/246, 709/241, 709/207, 709/240, 358/400, 358/402
• US Class Current: 709/246
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/066 Format adaptation, e.g. format conversion or compression
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/226 Delivery according to priorities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• 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 1/00212 Attaching image data to computer messages, e.g. to e-mails
• 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 2201/3222 of processing required or performed, e.g. forwarding, urgent or confidential handling

Abstract

In a communication system having a network capable of converting data in a first format into data in a second format to perform communication, and a data communication apparatus capable of performing communication of the data in the first format, the data communication apparatus transmits information indicating a priority level of an image such that the network can recognize the information, when transmitting the image to the network in the first format. The network converts the data in the first format transmitted by the data communication apparatus into data in the second format, and attaches priority level data, based on the information indicating the priority level of the received image, to the data converted into the second format when performing communication.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

receiving means for receiving image data in a first format transmitted by a data communication apparatus;

recognition means for recognizing priority level of the image data received by said receiving means;

wherein the priority level is information to notify a user who receives the image data in a second format of the priority level of the image data;

converting means for converting the image data in the first format received by said receiving means into the image data in the second format; and

communication means for attaching priority level information corresponding to the priority level recognized by said recognition means to the image data in the second format converted by said converting means, and transmitting the image data in the second format that the priority level information is attached to;

wherein, if the image data includes a plurality of pages, then the priority level may be changed for any page of the plurality of pages.

2. A data communication apparatus, which is connectable to a network that is adapted to convert image data in a first format to image data in a second format to perform a communication, and which is adapted to perform a communication of data in the first format, comprising:

converting means for converting an image to be transmitted to the network into data in the first format; and

transmitting means for transmitting information indicating a priority level of the image to the network, such that the network may recognize the priority level of the image, when transmitting to the network the image data in the first format, wherein the priority level is information to notify a user who receives the image data through the network of the priority level of the image data;

wherein, if the image includes a plurality of pages, then the information indicating the priority level may be changed for any page of the plurality of pages.