Data transmission device, control method thereof, and program

Abstract

To provide a mechanism of favorably switching a notification destination of an approval request in facsimile transmission according to presence information of an approver.SOLUTION: The present communication apparatus receives facsimile transmission, and acquires presence information of a first approver who approves the received facsimile transmission. Further, the present communication apparatus notifies a first destination of an approval request of the facsimile transmission when the acquired presence information indicates that approval processing by the first approver is possible. On the other hand, the present communication apparatus notifies a second destination adding to the first destination of the approval request of the facsimile transmission when the acquired presence information indicates that the approval processing by the first approver is not possible or unknown. Then, the communication apparatus executes the facsimile transmission when an approval response of the facsimile transmission is received.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to Data transmission Apparatus and control method thereof and Program M This is regarding. [Background technology]

[0002] Information systems such as networks and communication devices are essential for the operation of companies and organizations. However, risks associated with information systems, such as losses due to information system shutdowns, damage caused by information leaks, and loss of credibility, can cause significant damage and impact to companies and organizations. These damages and impacts can also spread to other parties, such as customers and business partners.

[0003] Fax machines, which are connected to public telephone lines and allow users to easily send faxes by simply entering the recipient's fax number and pressing the send button, also pose the above-mentioned risks to information systems. For example, entering the wrong fax number can lead to sending to the wrong recipient, or sending the wrong document can lead to information leaks, and problems have actually occurred due to sending the wrong fax or sending the wrong document.

[0004] In recent years, efforts are being made to strengthen information security, including the protection of personal information and the prevention of information leaks. In financial institutions and other organizations that often send important documents by fax, fax transmission is performed by a team of two people checking each other to avoid sending to the wrong destination or document. This double-checking is time-consuming and increases costs. Therefore, even in MFPs (Multi Function Peripherals) that have fax capabilities, there is a demand for a function that incorporates confirmation and approval processing of fax destinations and the contents of documents to be sent into the electronic workflow.

[0005] For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for sending an approval request to an approver by email, and performing a fax transmission process when an approval approval email is received from the approver. If the approval approval email is not received within a certain time frame, an approval request email is sent to a substitute approver. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-74389 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, the above-mentioned conventional technology has the following problems. In the above-mentioned conventional technology, if approval cannot be processed due to the absence of the approver at the time of fax transmission, approval is obtained by requesting approval from a substitute approver after a certain time has passed. In other words, approval from the substitute must be obtained after a certain time has passed. Therefore, in the above-mentioned conventional technology, if approval cannot be processed immediately due to a meeting or being out of the office, the fax transmission must wait for a certain time, and it takes time from when the fax transmission job is submitted to when it is executed. Furthermore, approval cannot be obtained if the substitute is absent.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of at least one of the above problems, Indicated by received presence information Approver Status notified It is possible Where If so, sending an authorization request to the first destination; Indicated by received presence information Approver situation but off-line If yes, send an approval request to the second destination and if the status of the approver indicated by the received presence information is away, send an approval request to the first destination. This provides a mechanism for [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention is a data transmission device, comprising: a request transmission means for transmitting an approval request for data transmission; and a data transmission means for transmitting the data based on an approval response approving the transmission of the data as a response to the approval request transmitted by the request transmission means. and, Presence information indicating the status of the approver who approves the transmission of said data a receiving means for receiving the presence information indicated by the presence information received by the receiving means; The above approver Status of contact It is possible Where In this case, the request sending means sends the approval request to a first destination, The receiving means receives The presence information Denoted by The above approver Status is offline Yes Where In this case, the request transmission means transmits the approval request to the second destination. and when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received by the receiving means is "Away," the request sending means sends the approval request to the first destination. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, Indicated by received presence information Approver Status notified It is possible Where If so, sending an authorization request to the first destination; Indicated by received presence information Approver situation but off-line If yes, send an approval request to the second destination and if the status of the approver indicated by the received presence information is away, send an approval request to the first destination. It is possible. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a comparative example of a workflow for executing fax transmission after obtaining approval. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a comparative example of a workflow in which approval processing is not performed and fax transmission is not executed. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a communication device according to an embodiment and a connection state to a communication network. [Figure 4] 11 is a diagram showing a table for managing the email address and SIP URI of an approver for each user ID according to an embodiment. [Diagram 5] 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an email exchanged between a communication device and an approver according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] 11 is a table that serves as a criterion for a communication device according to an embodiment to determine whether or not to approve a request based on the presence status of an approver. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a workflow for executing fax transmission according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing a process for executing fax transmission according to an embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a workflow for executing fax transmission according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a flowchart showing a process for executing fax transmission according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe a number of features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0013] <Comparative Example> First, approval processing in a general fax transmission will be described as a comparative example of the present invention with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Fig. 1 shows a workflow for executing approval fax transmission as a comparative example. The workflow described below shows approval fax transmission in which, when sending a fax, approval of the destination and the document to be sent is obtained from a manager or an approver before fax transmission is executed. Note that, hereinafter, fax transmission with approval from an approver will be referred to as approval fax transmission, approval fax transmission job, approval fax, etc.

[0014] Reference numeral 10 denotes a fax sender, and 13 denotes an approver who approves the document sent by the fax sender. Reference numeral 11 denotes an image forming device, and 12 denotes a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as PC) used by the approver 13. Reference numeral 14 denotes a receiving device at the destination of the fax transmission.

[0015] First, at T1, the fax sender submits an approval fax transmission job to the MFP 11, which requires approval for the transmission destination and the document to be transmitted. Next, at T2, the MFP 11 sends an approval request email with the destination information and the document to be transmitted to the approver's address. Next, at T3, the approver 13 checks the transmission destination information and the document to be transmitted attached to the email via the approver's PC 12 and approves them. After obtaining the approval of the approver 13, at T4, the approver's PC 12 notifies the MFP 11 of the approval of the fax transmission job. At T5, the MFP 11 faxes the fax transmission job for which the approval was notified to the receiving device 14, which is the transmission destination.

[0016] 2 shows a comparative example of a workflow for sending a fax when approval cannot be obtained. The same reference characters and step numbers are used for the same configurations as in FIG. 1, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, when the MFP 11 transmits an approval request email to the approver PC 12 of the approver 13, the approver 13 may be in a meeting in the office or out of the office, and therefore may not be able to perform the approval process at T3 and T4 shown in FIG. 1. In this case, the fax sender 10 cannot execute the fax transmission (T5) until the approver 13 performs the approval process, and is uncertain as to when the fax transmission will be completed. As described above, it is also conceivable that the approval request email may be sent again to another approver after a certain time has elapsed after the approval request email has been sent. However, even with such control, it is necessary to wait for approval from the absent approver 13 until a certain time has elapsed, and if the other approvers are also absent, the fax sender 10 is uncertain as to when the fax transmission will be completed.

[0018] <Communication device configuration> An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. First, a hardware configuration of a communication device 100 according to an embodiment and a connection state to a communication network will be described with reference to FIG.

[0019] The communication device 100 includes a CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103, a HDD 104, a panel operation I / F 105, an operation panel 106, a scanner I / F 107, and a scanner 108. The communication device 100 further includes a printer I / F 109, a printer 110, a modem 111, an NCU 112, and a network I / F 113.

[0020] Furthermore, the communication device 100 is connected to an intranet 200 and a public telephone network 300 via a network I / F 113. To the intranet 200, for example, a presence server 201, a first approver PC 202 and a second approver PC 203, which are fixed terminals, are connected. The presence server 201 communicates with the approver PCs 202 and 203 connected to the intranet 200 and manages the presence states that indicate the working states of the approvers. Details of the presence states will be described later with reference to FIG. 6.

[0021] The communication device 100 performs fax communication with a G3FAX 301 connected to a public telephone network 300. The communication device 100 is also connected from an intranet 200 to the Internet 520 and a mobile phone network 310 via a router, a GW, etc. (not shown), and can perform communication such as email with an approver smartphone 311, which is a mobile terminal on the mobile phone network 310.

[0022] The CPU 101 performs overall control of access to various devices connected to the system bus based on a control program stored in the ROM 102 or a hard disk drive (HDD) 104. The ROM 102 stores control programs executable by the CPU 101. The RAM 103 functions mainly as the main memory, work area, etc. of the CPU 101, and the memory capacity can be expanded by an optional RAM connected to an expansion port (not shown). The HDD 104 stores, for example, a boot program, various applications, font data, user files, and edit files.

[0023] The panel operation I / F 105 functions as a reception means, and controls the display control of the operation panel 106 and the input of various setting information set on the operation panel 106. The scanner I / F 107 controls image input from the scanner 108. The printer I / F 109 controls image output to the printer 110. The modem 111 demodulates fax procedure signals and image data signals from the line, and conversely modulates fax procedure signals and image data signals from the communication device 100 and sends them to the line. The NCU (Network Control Unit) 112 is a line control unit composed of relays and the like, and sends signals such as a selection signal and hooking by pulse to the public telephone network 300. The network I / F 113 is an expansion card such as a NIC for connecting and controlling the communication device 100 to a network.

[0024] <Management table> Next, a management table for managing destinations such as the address of an approver for each user registered in the communication device 100 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The management table 400 is a table for managing a user address 402, and email addresses and SIP URIs of a first approver 403 and a second approver 404 for each pre-registered user ID 401. An example will be described in which approvers from a first approver 403 to a second approver 404 can be registered in the management table 400, but this is not intended to limit the present invention and more approvers can also be registered.

[0025] In the registration example of Fig. 4, an internal email address and a SIP URI can be registered for both the first approver 403 and the second approver 404. Furthermore, only the first approver 403 can register a mobile device address. The SIP URI is an address for obtaining the approver's presence from the presence server 201, and can be registered in advance for each approver. For the approver with user ID "0100", only the first approver 403 is registered, but the mobile address of the first approver is registered. Furthermore, for the approver with user ID "0200", the first approver 403 to the second approver 404 are registered, but the mobile address of the first approver 403 is not registered.

[0026] <Exchange information> Next, information exchanged between the communication device 100 according to an embodiment and a device owned by an approver will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Here, an example of information exchange using e-mail will be described, but there is no intention to limit the method of information exchange, and any method capable of exchanging the information described below will suffice. Fig. 5 shows examples of approval request / approval / approval-communication result e-mails.

[0027] Numeral 500 indicates an example of an approval request email sent by the communication device 100 to the internal address and mobile address of the first approver 403. The addresses of the two approvers are set in the "To" destination, and the email address of the communication device 100, which is the sender, is entered in the "From" field. Furthermore, character strings indicating that this is an approval request email ([Approval FAX][Request]) are entered in the "Subject". Furthermore, a receipt number (

[12345] ) that identifies the fax transmission job for which approval has been requested is inserted in the "Subject". In other words, the "Subject" field contains information on the type of email, and contains information indicating that this is an approval request email for fax transmission.

[0028] The body of the email contains a message encouraging the responder to change the "Subject" string [Request] to either [Approve] or [Reject] when replying to the email. This allows the approver to choose whether to approve or reject the fax transmission. Also attached are destination information such as the recipient's telephone number (in the image, destination: 03xxxxyyyy), and the document to be sent by fax (in the image, document to be sent: attached file quotation.doc).

[0029] Numeral 510 shows an example of an approval reply email sent to the approver's mobile address in response to the approval request email shown in 500. The email address of the communication device 100 is listed in the "To" destination, and the approver's mobile address is listed in the "From" field. The approver replies by changing the character string in the "Subject" field to ([Approval]) to indicate that it is an approval email. The communication device 100 can determine whether the fax sending job corresponding to the reception number has been approved or rejected based on the reception number in the "Subject" field and the character string [Approval] or [Rejection].

[0030] Numeral 520 shows an example of an approval / communication result email that is sent to the internal address and mobile address of the approver who requested the approval, reporting that the fax transmission job approved in the email 510 has been successfully completed. All addresses of the approvers who sent the approval request email are listed in the "To" destination, and the email address of the communication device 100 is listed in the "From" destination. The body of the email includes the result of the approval request (approved or rejected) and the communication result of the approved fax transmission job (OK or NG).

[0031] <Presence status> Next, referring to FIG. 6, the presence state of the approver according to one embodiment will be described. 600 is a table 600 showing the relationship between approval / non-approval 601 and the presence state. That is, it is a table for judging whether approval processing is possible or not from the presence state 602 of the approver. The table 600 is stored in advance in the HDD 104 of the communication device 100, and is used to judge whether the approver can execute approval processing or not when the communication device 100 acquires the presence information of the approver. Note that the communication device 100 may acquire information indicating whether the target approver can execute approval processing or not from the presence server 201 without holding such a table. In this case, the presence server 201 judges whether the approver can execute approval processing or not according to the presence information held by it.

[0032] The presence state indicates the state of the communication partner used in instant messaging such as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and Skype. The presence state of each approver is periodically acquired and managed by the presence server 201, based on the state of the registered user (approver). Alternatively, when a change in state occurs, the state may be notified to the presence server 201 from a device owned by each approver, and the state may be managed. Alternatively, the presence state may be acquired and managed by both. As shown in 603, presence states 602 in which the approval possibility 601 is determined as possible 603 include, for example, available for contact, inactive (temporarily away), and away (displays away), etc. Furthermore, presence states 602 in which the approval possibility 601 is determined as unknown 604 include busy, in a call, in a meeting, making a presentation, etc. Furthermore, presence states 602 in which the approval possibility 601 is determined as not possible 605 include out of the office, offline, unable to respond, outside business hours, etc. In this way, the presence state 602 indicates the current state of the approver. Note that these presence states are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present invention. For example, the presence state 602 assigned to Possible 603 described above may be assigned to other approval / disapproval states 601 such as Unknown 604 or Not Approval 605, and other presence states may also be added. These settings can be set for related devices of this system such as the communication device 100 and the presence server 201.

[0033] <First embodiment> (Workflow) The first embodiment will be described below with reference to Fig. 7 and Fig. 8. First, the workflow of approval fax transmission in the communication system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7. The solid arrows in Fig. 7 represent operations and communications that were actually performed, and the dashed arrows represent operations and communications that were not performed.

[0034] First, in T101, the FAX sender 701 submits an approval fax transmission job to the communication device 100, which requires approval for the transmission destination and the document to be transmitted. The FAX sender 701 may submit the approval fax transmission job to the communication device 100 via a device such as a PC, or via the operation panel 106 of the communication device 100. In the former case, the communication device 100 accepts designations and data relating to the job and the document to be transmitted by the network I / F 113 via the intranet 200. Meanwhile, in the latter case, the communication device 100 accepts designations relating to the job and the document to be transmitted by the operation panel 106. In either case, data previously stored in the communication device 100 or data read by the scanner 108 may be used for the data to be transmitted.

[0035] Next, in T102, the communication device 100 to which the approval fax transmission job has been submitted inquires of the presence server 201 about the presence status of the approver using the approver's identification information. The presence server 201 obtains the presence status of the inquired approver from the presence statuses of the approvers it manages using the received identification information of the approver, and notifies the presence server 201. Thereafter, in T103, the communication device 100 receives the presence status of the inquired approver from the presence server 201.

[0036] In T104 and T105, if the presence status of the approved person that has been received is "out," the communication device 100 simultaneously sends an approval request email to the mobile address of the approved person in addition to the company address. That is, here, the approval request email is sent to the first approver's smartphone 311, which is a mobile terminal, in addition to the first approver's PC 202, which is a fixed terminal. Because the approver is out, he or she cannot check the approval request email that has been notified to the first approver's PC 202, which is a fixed terminal. On the other hand, even while out, the approver can check the approval request email received on the first approver's smartphone 311, which is a mobile terminal, and can select whether to approve or reject.

[0037] When the approver replies with an approval email from the first approver smartphone 311 in T106, the communication device 100 executes FAX transmission to the destination in T107. When the FAX transmission is completed, in T108 and T109, the communication device 100 notifies and shares the approval result and the FAX transmission result to both the mobile address and the internal company address of the approver who made the approval request.

[0038] (Processing procedure of communication device) Next, a fax transmission process procedure in the communication device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. The process described below is realized, for example, by the CPU 101 reading a program stored in the ROM 102 into the RAM 103 and executing it.

[0039] In S101, when a fax transmission job is submitted, the CPU 101 determines whether or not the approval fax transmission mode was selected when the transmission job was submitted by the fax sender 701. If it is a normal fax transmission job that does not require approval, the process proceeds to S115, where the CPU 101 executes the fax transmission job, and in S113, the CPU 101 again determines whether or not it is an approval fax transmission job, and ends the process.

[0040] On the other hand, if it is determined in S101 that the job is an approval fax transmission job, the process proceeds to S102, where the CPU 101 selects a first approver registered in the approver address management table 400 in Fig. 4 and corresponding to the FAX sender 701 who has logged in as a user to the communication device 100. Furthermore, in S103, the CPU 101 queries the presence server 201 about the presence status of the first approver.

[0041] Next, in S104, the CPU 101 judges whether or not a response has been received from the presence server 201, and if so, proceeds to S105, otherwise repeats this judgment periodically until a response is received. In S105, the CPU 101 checks the information on the presence state included in the response received from the presence server 201, and judges whether the presence state allows the first approver to perform the approval process using the table 600 in Fig. 6. If the first approver is able to perform the approval process 603, the process proceeds to S106, where the CPU 101 sets the approver's internal address as the destination of the approval request, and proceeds to S108. On the other hand, if it is difficult to perform the approval process (unknown 604 or not possible 605), the process proceeds to S107, where the CPU 101 sets the first approver's mobile address as the destination of the approval request in addition to the internal address of the first approver, and proceeds to S108. In S108, the CPU 101 writes destination information in the approval request email and attaches the document to be sent, and in S109 sends the approval request email to the address of the first approver set in S106 or S107.

[0042] Thereafter, in S110, CPU 101 judges whether there is a response to the approval request email from the first approver. If there is a response, the process proceeds to S111, and if not, the judgment of S110 is periodically repeated. In S111, CPU 101 judges whether the received response indicates approval. If it is approved, the process proceeds to S115, where CPU 101 executes a fax transmission job, and proceeds to S113. On the other hand, if it is not approved, the process proceeds to S112, where CPU 101 cancels the fax transmission job, and proceeds to S113. In S113, CPU 101 functions as a result transmission means, judges whether it is an approval fax transmission job, and if it is an approval fax transmission job, the process proceeds to S114, where the approval result and the communication result are notified to the approver's internal address and mobile address, and the process ends. On the other hand, if it is not an approval fax transmission job, the process ends as it is.

[0043] As described above, the communication device according to the present embodiment receives a fax transmission and acquires the presence information of a first approver who approves the received fax transmission. In addition, when the acquired presence information indicates that the first approver is capable of approval processing, the communication device notifies the first destination of an approval request for the fax transmission. On the other hand, when the acquired presence information indicates that the first approver is not capable of approval processing or is unknown, the communication device notifies the second destination in addition to the first destination of an approval request for the fax transmission. After that, when the communication device receives an approval response for the fax transmission, it executes the fax transmission. Note that it is preferable that the first destination is the destination of the fixed terminal of the first approver, and the second destination is the destination of the mobile terminal of the first approver. As a result, according to the present invention, the notification destination of the approval request for the fax transmission can be suitably switched according to the presence information of the approver, and even if the approver cannot immediately perform approval processing due to a meeting or going out, the time loss of switching to another approver can be reduced.

[0044] <Second embodiment> (Workflow) The second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figs. 9 and 10. In this embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, if it is determined that the approval process of the first approver is difficult, an approval request is notified to a second approver different from the first approver in addition to the first approver. Note that the same configuration and control as those of the first embodiment will not be described. That is, explanations of Figs. 3 to 6 will be omitted because they are the same as those of the first embodiment. First, the workflow of approval fax transmission in the communication system according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 9. The solid arrows in Fig. 9 represent operations and communications that were actually performed, and the dashed arrows represent operations and communications that were not performed.

[0045] First, in T201, the FAX sender 701 submits an approval fax transmission job to the communication device 100, which requires approval for the transmission destination and the document to be transmitted. The FAX sender 701 may submit the approval fax transmission job to the communication device 100 via a device such as a PC, or via the operation panel 106 of the communication device 100. In the former case, the communication device 100 accepts designations and data relating to the job and the document to be transmitted by the network I / F 113 via the intranet 200. Meanwhile, in the latter case, the communication device 100 accepts designations relating to the job and the document to be transmitted by the operation panel 106. In either case, the transmission data may be data previously stored in the communication device 100 or read by the scanner 108 and used.

[0046] Next, in T202, the communication device 100 to which the approval fax transmission job has been submitted inquires of the presence server 201 about the presence status of the first approver using the identification information of the first approver. The presence server 201 acquires the presence status of the inquired first approver from the presence statuses of the approvers managed using the received identification information of the first approver, and notifies the presence status. Thereafter, in T203, the communication device 100 receives the presence status of the inquired first approver from the presence server 201.

[0047] In T204 and T205, if the received presence status of the first approver is out, the communication device 100 notifies the second approver PC 203 of the second approver as well as the first approver (first approver PC 202) of the approval request at the same time. Since the first approver is out, the approval process is not executed, and the approval process is executed by the second approver in T206. If approval is given as a result of the approval process by the second approver, the communication device 100 executes FAX transmission to the destination in T207. When the FAX transmission is completed, the communication device 100 notifies all the approvers (here, the first approver and the second approver) who requested the approval of the approval result and the FAX transmission result in T208 and T209 to share them.

[0048] (Processing procedure of communication device) Next, a fax transmission process procedure in the communication device 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 10. The process described below is realized, for example, by the CPU 101 reading a program stored in the ROM 102 into the RAM 103 and executing it. Note that the same steps as those in the flowchart of Fig. 8 described in the first embodiment are given the same step numbers and will not be described. That is, the same processes as those in the first embodiment are performed for S101 to S105, S110 to S113, and S115.

[0049] If the first approval process is possible 603 in S105, the process proceeds to S201, where the CPU 101 sets the internal address of the first approver as the destination of the approval request. Furthermore, in S202, the CPU 101 writes the sending destination information in the approval request email, attaches the document to be sent, and notifies the approval request email to the approver address set in S203. Then, the process proceeds to S110.

[0050] On the other hand, if approval processing is difficult in S105 (Unknown 604 or Not Possible 605), the process proceeds to S204, where the CPU 101 sets the address of the second approver as the destination of the approval request in addition to the address of the first approver. Next, in S205, the CPU 101 writes the sending destination information in the approval request email, attaches the document to be sent, and notifies the approval request email to the approver address set in S206. Then, the process proceeds to S110.

[0051] Also, if it is determined in S113 that the job is an approval fax transmission job, the process proceeds to S207, where the CPU 101 functions as a result transmission means, notifies all approvers of the approval result and the communication result, and ends the process. In other words, if the approval request was notified only to the first approver in S203, the result is notified to the first approver, and if the approval request was notified to both the first approver and the second approver in S206, the result is notified to both the first approver and the second approver. This makes it possible to prevent duplicate approvals, such as when the second approver approves and the first approver returns from an outing, the second approver approves again.

[0052] As described above, the communication device according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the first destination for notifying the approval request is the destination of the device of the first approver, and the second destination is the destination of the device of the second approver different from the first approver. Therefore, even if it is difficult for the first approver to perform the approval process, the second approver can perform the approval process on behalf of the first approver, and it is possible to prevent delays in fax transmission.

[0053] <Modification> In the above first embodiment, an example is described in which, in a case where the approval of the first approver is determined to be unknown or not possible based on the presence status, an approval request is sent to multiple addresses of one approver (first approver). In addition, in the above second embodiment, an example is described in which, in such a case, an approval request is sent to multiple approvers (first approver and second approver). However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and various modifications are possible.

[0054] For example, the first embodiment and the second embodiment may be combined. In this case, the approval request is notified to the multiple addresses of the first approver, and the approval request is also notified to the second approver. Furthermore, the presence server 201 may be inquired about the presence status of the second approver, and if the second approver has multiple addresses, all of the addresses may be notified when it is determined that the second approver is unknown or unavailable. In the above embodiment, the example in which the first approver and the second approver are registered has been described, but multiple approvers may be registered. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the approval request is notified to the second address in addition to the first address, but it may be notified only to the second address without notifying the first address. The method of selecting these notification destinations may be switched by settings.

[0055] In the above embodiment, an example in which the communication device 100 notifies a plurality of approvers has been described. However, in the present invention, as in the above first embodiment, a mechanism may be provided in which the approval request is initially notified only to the first approver, and the approval request email indicates that the first approver should make a request to another approver. In this case, an email instructing the first approver to make a request to another approver may simply be sent as a response to the communication device 100, and the communication device 100 may again make a request to the specified approver. This allows the first approver to select and specify another approver depending on the contents of the approval request document (fax transmission data).

[0056] <Other embodiments> The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

[0057] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 100: communication device, 101: CPU, 102: ROM, 103: RAM, 104: HDD, 105: panel operation I / F, 106: operation panel, 107: scanner I / F, 108: scanner, 109: printer I / F, 110: printer, 111: modem, 112: NCU, 113: network I / F, 200: intranet, 201: presence server, 202: first approver PC, 203: second approver PC, 300: public telephone network, 301: G3FAX, 310: mobile phone network, 311: approver smartphone, 320: internet

Claims

1. A data transmission device, a request sending means for sending an approval request for sending data; a data transmitting means for transmitting the data based on an approval response for approving the transmission of the data as a response to the approval request transmitted by the request transmitting means; a receiving means for receiving presence information indicating a status of an approver who approves the transmission of the data, A data transmission device characterized in that, when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received by the receiving means is contactable, the request sending means sends the approval request to a first destination, when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received by the receiving means is offline, the request sending means sends the approval request to a second destination, and when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received by the receiving means is away, the request sending means sends the approval request to the first destination.

2. A data transmission device as described in Claim 1, characterized in that when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received by the receiving means is offline, the request sending means sends the approval request to the first destination in addition to the second destination.

3. A data transmission device as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received by the receiving means is busy, the request sending means sends the approval request to the second destination.

4. A data transmission device as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received by the receiving means is in a meeting, the request sending means sends the approval request to the second destination.

5. A data transmission device as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received by the receiving means is on a call, the request sending means sends the approval request to the second destination.

6. A data transmission device as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received by the receiving means is that the approver is out, the request sending means sends the approval request to the second destination.

7. A data transmission device as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the receiving means receives the presence information from a server which receives and stores the status of the approver.

8. 8. The data transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the data transmission is data transmission by a facsimile machine.

9. 9. The data transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the request transmission means transmits the approval request by electronic mail.

10. A method for controlling a data transmission device, comprising: a request sending step of sending an approval request for sending data by a request sending means; a data transmitting step in which a data transmitting means transmits the data based on an approval response that approves the transmission of the data as a response to the approval request transmitted in the request transmitting step; a receiving step of receiving presence information indicating a status of an approver who approves the transmission of the data by a receiving means; A method for controlling a data transmission device, characterized in that, when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received in the receiving step is contactable, the request sending step sends the approval request to a first destination, when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received in the receiving step is offline, the request sending step sends the approval request to a second destination, and when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received in the receiving step is away, the request sending step sends the approval request to the first destination.

11. A program for causing a computer to execute each step of a control method for a data transmission device, the control method comprising: a request sending step of sending an approval request for sending data by a request sending means; a data transmitting step in which a data transmitting means transmits the data based on an approval response that approves the transmission of the data as a response to the approval request transmitted in the request transmitting step; a receiving step of receiving presence information indicating a status of an approver who approves the transmission of the data by a receiving means; A program characterized in that, when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received in the receiving step is contactable, the request sending step sends the approval request to a first destination, when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received in the receiving step is offline, the request sending step sends the approval request to a second destination, and when the status of the approver indicated by the presence information received in the receiving step is away, the request sending step sends the approval request to the first destination.

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