Data communication system

• US 6,937,366 B2
• Filed: 12/23/1997
• Issued: 08/30/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ejiri, Seishi
• Primary Examiner(s): Pokrzywa, Joseph R.
• Application Number:
  US08/997,706
• Publication Number:
  US 20020048049A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,807 Days
• Field of Search: 358/1.15, 358/1.16, 358/400, 358/402, 358/403, 358/405, 358/434, 358/436, 358/437, 358/440, 358/444, 358/468, 358/442
• US Class Current: 358/434
• 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

Abstract

In a system in which a facsimile apparatus is connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) to which a plurality of computer terminals are connected, image data obtained by reading an original image by the scanner of the facsimile apparatus under the control of the operation unit of the facsimile apparatus is transmitted to a destination designated by the operation unit. In this operation, if a user ID is designated, transmitted image data and information (destination, transmission time/date, or the like) related to transmission is transferred to the LAN to notify the information to a user corresponding to the user ID. In this manner, data communication performed by a local operation of the facsimile apparatus and data communication performed by a remote designation from the computer terminal can be managed together.

Claims

1. A data communication system comprising:

a connector, adapted to connect a network, which is connectable to a plurality of data processing terminals, to said data communication system;

an operation input unit, adapted to input a manual designation from an operator and to input address of an external data communication terminal;

a designation unit, adapted to designate an ID for specifying a data processing terminal on the network connected by said connector based on the manual designation inputted using said operation input unit;

a data transmitter, adapted to transmit a document based on a designation of an address input by said operation input unit, the document being transmitted to an external data communication terminal via a line that does not include said connector;

a transfer unit, adapted to transfer the address of the external data communication terminal, communication result information representing a document transmission performed by said data transmitter based on the designation input by said operation input unit, and the document transmitted by said data transmitter to one of the plurality of data processing terminals connected by said connector upon completion of the document transmission performed by said data transmitter;

a determination unit, adapted to determine whether or not an ID is designated by said designation unit; and

a transfer control unit, adapted to control said transfer unit in accordance with a determination result by said determination unit,

wherein the data processing terminal, corresponding to the ID designated by said designation unit, stores the communication result information and the document transferred by said transfer unit which correlate to each other.

2. A data communication system according to claim 1, wherein said transfer unit does not transfer the information in absence of an ID designated by said designation unit.

3. A data communication system according to claim 1, wherein the ID designated by said designation unit is information representing a user on the network.

4. A data communication system according to claim 1, wherein said data transmitter transmits the document, based on the designated ID, from the data processing terminal connected to said data communication system via said connector.

5. A data communication system according to claim 1, wherein the information transferred by said transfer unit includes at least one of a transmission destination, a transmission time, and a number of transmission pages.

6. A method of controlling a system that includes a data communication system for performing document communication with a destination and a data processing terminal for controlling the data communication system, the data communication system being connected to the data processing terminal via a network that is connectable to a plurality of data processing terminals, said method comprising the steps of:

at the data communication system;

inputting a designation manually entered by an operator using an operation input unit;

designating an ID based on the manual designation inputted using the operation input unit;

performing document communication with an external data communication terminal in accordance with a designation inputted using the operation input unit; and

notifying the data processing terminal corresponding to the designated ID, via a connector connecting the data communication system and the data processing terminal, wherein notification includes communication result information representing the document communication with the external data communication terminal based on the inputted designation, and a document transmitted by the data communication system, and

at the data processing terminal;

instructing the data communication system to communicate with a destination;

receiving communication result information notified by the data communication system in said notifying step; and

independently storing the communication result information related to the document communication based on an instruction in said instructing step and communication result information received from the data communication system in said receiving step,

wherein said notifying step notifies the data processing terminal of the communication result information related to the document communication upon completion of the document transmission performed by the data communication system, and

said notifying step includes notifying, in a case where user information is input using the operation input unit with an address of the external data communication terminal, a data processing terminal corresponding to the user information of the communication result information.