Image communication device, image communication system, image communication method and program

Abstract

To provide an image communication device.SOLUTION: An image communication device 104 includes image receiving means 222 for receiving image data. The image communication device 104 also includes transfer means 214 for transferring the received image data by attaching it to a message that requests opening-confirmation. The image communication device 104 further includes: notification receiving means 216 for receiving an opening-confirmation notification; and state recording means 218 for recording a confirmation state at a transfer destination of the image data based on the opening-confirmation notification related to the image data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image communication apparatus, an image communication system, an image communication method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a technique for forwarding a facsimile-received document to a pre-registered forwarding destination when the document is received by facsimile.

[0003] However, in the prior art of facsimile forwarding, in order to manage whether a received facsimile document has been read or not at the destination terminal when the document is forwarded, it is necessary to install a unique application on the destination terminal.

[0004] Regarding facsimile forwarding, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-348310 (Patent Document 1) discloses a technology aimed at providing a fax machine that allows a user to receive received documents as needed while out. Patent Document 1 discloses a fax machine that can temporarily store and forward documents received from an external device, and that forwards the received document to a fax number specified in a returned reception notification email using a communication control unit based on the fax number of the forwarding destination. However, Patent Document 1 does not disclose any management of read and unread documents when forwarding received facsimile documents without installing special software. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide an image communication device that enables management of read and unread status of received image data at the destination to which the image data is forwarded without installing special software. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present disclosure provides an image communication device having the following characteristics. The image communication device includes an image receiving means for receiving image data. The image communication device also includes a forwarding means for forwarding the received image data attached to a message requesting an opening confirmation. The image communication device further includes a notification receiving means for receiving an opening confirmation notification, and a status recording means for recording the confirmation status of the image data at the forwarding destination based on the opening confirmation notification related to the image data. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] With the above configuration, it becomes possible to manage whether the image data has been read or not at the destination to which the received image data has been transferred, without installing any special software. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a network environment in which a multifunction peripheral having a facsimile sending and receiving function and a facsimile sending and receiving device according to this embodiment are arranged. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a multifunction peripheral as an image communication apparatus according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of a personal computer (PC) as a destination information processing device according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of a smartphone as a destination information processing device in this embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining functions related to the transfer process and viewing state management of a facsimile document in the multifunction peripheral according to this embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 explains the flow of processing when transferring a facsimile document between a multifunction peripheral, a personal computer, and a mail server according to this embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a transfer process executed by the multifunction peripheral according to this embodiment when a facsimile is received. [Figure 8]FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of a viewing state management table managed by the multifunction peripheral according to this embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] While the present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment thereof, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described below. Note that the embodiment described below uses a multifunction peripheral or a facsimile transmitting / receiving device having a facsimile transmitting / receiving function as an example of an image communication device.

[0010] FIG. 1 illustrates a network environment 100 in which a multifunction peripheral 104 having a facsimile sending and receiving function and a facsimile sending and receiving device 106 according to this embodiment are arranged.

[0011] 1, the network environment 100 includes a multifunction peripheral 104, a facsimile transmitting / receiving device 106, a mail server 108, a personal computer 110, and a smartphone 112, each of which is connected to the Internet 102. In the described embodiment, for simplicity, each device is depicted as if it were directly connected to the Internet 102, but each device is appropriately connected to a local network such as a wired or wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or a mobile communication network such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) or 5G (5th Generation Mobile Communication System), and is connected to the Internet via a router, a base station, or the like.

[0012] The multifunction peripheral 104 and the facsimile transmitting / receiving device 106 are connected to the public switched telephone network 103 and transmit and receive documents according to a protocol conforming to a predetermined facsimile communication standard such as the G3 standard or the G4 standard. The multifunction peripheral 104 and the facsimile transmitting / receiving device 106 are each an example of an image communication device that has the function of receiving facsimiles and transferring image data of received facsimile documents to a predetermined destination.

[0013] In this embodiment, the personal computer 110 and the smartphone 112 are terminals to which image data of a received facsimile document can be transferred. The personal computer 110 and the smartphone 112 shown in FIG. 1 are merely examples, and the transfer destination is not particularly limited, and an external system such as a document management system or a database can also be the transfer destination. Other multifunction peripherals or facsimile transmitting / receiving devices can also be used as terminals to which image data of a received facsimile document can be transferred.

[0014] Mail server 108 is a server for sending, receiving, and delivering mail in accordance with a predetermined protocol such as SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3), IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol), etc. Note that although the sender and receiver may communicate with different mail servers, for the sake of convenience, the following description will be given assuming that the sender and receiver access the same mail server to perform mail sending and receiving processes.

[0015] First, the hardware configuration of the main devices in this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0016] 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a multifunction peripheral (multifunction peripheral / product / printer) 9 serving as an image communication apparatus according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the multifunction peripheral (multifunction peripheral / product / printer) 9 includes a controller 910, a short-range communication circuit 920, an engine control unit 930, an operation panel 940, a network I / F 950, and a facsimile control unit (FCU) 960.

[0017] Of these, the controller 910 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 901, which is the main part of the computer, a system memory (MEM-P) 902, a north bridge (NB) 903, a south bridge (SB) 904, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 906, a local memory (MEM-C) 907, which is a storage unit, an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) controller 908, and an HD (Hard Disk) 909, which is also a storage unit, and is configured such that the NB 903 and the ASIC 906 are connected by an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) bus 921.

[0018] Of these, the CPU 901 is a control unit that performs overall control of the multifunction device 9. The NB 903 is a bridge that connects the CPU 901 with the MEM-P 902, the SB 904, and the AGP bus 921, and includes a memory controller that controls reading and writing to the MEM-P 902, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) master, and an AGP target.

[0019] The MEM-P 902 comprises a ROM 902a, which is memory for storing programs and data that realize the functions of the controller 910, and a RAM 902b, which is used for expanding the programs and data and as a drawing memory during memory printing. The programs stored in the RAM 902b may be provided by being recorded in an installable or executable file format on a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc - Read Only Memory), a CD-R (Compact Disc Recordable), or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc).

[0020] The SB 904 is a bridge connecting the NB 903 with PCI devices and peripheral devices. The ASIC 906 is an integrated circuit (IC) for image processing applications that has hardware elements for image processing and serves as a bridge connecting the AGP bus 921, PCI bus 922, HDD controller 908, and MEM-C 907. The ASIC 906 includes a PCI target and AGP master, an arbiter (ARB) that forms the core of the ASIC 906, a memory controller that controls the MEM-C 907, multiple direct memory access controllers (DMACs) that perform image data rotation using hardware logic, and a PCI unit that transfers data between the scanner unit 931 and printer unit 932 via the PCI bus 922. A USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface or an IEEE 1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) interface may also be connected to the ASIC 906.

[0021] The MEM-C907 is a local memory used as an image buffer for copying and a code buffer. The HD909 is a storage for storing image data, font data used during printing, and forms. The HD controller 808 controls the reading and writing of data from and to the HD909 under the control of the CPU901. The AGP bus 921 is a bus interface for a graphics accelerator card proposed to speed up graphics processing, and by directly accessing the MEM-P902 at high throughput, the graphics accelerator card can be made faster.

[0022] Further, the short-range communication circuit 920 is provided with an antenna 920a. The short-range communication circuit 920 is a communication circuit such as NFC or Bluetooth (registered trademark).

[0023] The engine control unit 930 is further comprised of a scanner unit 931 and a printer unit 932. The FCU 960 is connected to the ASIC 906 via the PCI bus 922. The FCU 960 executes a communication method conforming to a facsimile communication standard such as G3 or G4. The operation panel 940 includes a panel display unit 940a, such as a touch panel, that displays current settings and selection screens and accepts inputs from the operator, and an operation panel 940b that includes a numeric keypad that accepts settings for image formation conditions such as density settings and a start key that accepts a copy start command. The controller 910 controls the entire multifunction peripheral 9, including, for example, drawing, communication, and inputs from the operation panel 940. The scanner unit 931 or the printer unit 932 includes image processing functions such as error diffusion and gamma conversion.

[0024] The multifunction device 9 can sequentially switch and select the document box function, copy function, printer function, and facsimile function using the application switching key on the operation panel 940. When the document box function is selected, the device enters document box mode, when the copy function is selected, the device enters copy mode, when the printer function is selected, the device enters printer mode, and when the facsimile mode is selected, the device enters facsimile mode.

[0025] The network I / F 950 is an interface for performing data communication using a communication network. The short-range communication circuit 920 and the network I / F 950 are electrically connected to the ASIC 906 via a PCI bus 922.

[0026] Although the hardware configuration of the multifunction peripheral 104 has been described with reference to FIG. 2, the facsimile transmitting / receiving device 106 can also be implemented with a similar configuration by adding or deleting hardware components as appropriate.

[0027] 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of a personal computer (PC) as a destination information processing device in this embodiment. Here, the hardware configuration of PC 5 will be described.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 3, PC 5 is constructed by a computer, and as shown in FIG. 3, it includes a CPU 501, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 502, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 503, an HD 504, an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) controller 505, a display 506, an external device connection I / F (Interface) 508, a network I / F 509, a data bus 510, a keyboard 511, a pointing device 512, a DVD-RW (Digital Versatile Disk Rewritable) drive 514, and a media I / F 516.

[0029] Of these, the CPU 501 controls the overall operation of the PC 5. The ROM 502 stores programs, such as an IPL, used to drive the CPU 501. The RAM 503 is used as a work area for the CPU 501. The HD 504 stores various data, such as programs. The HDD controller 505 controls the reading and writing of various data from and to the HD 504 under the control of the CPU 501. The display 506 displays various information, such as a cursor, menus, windows, characters, or images. The external device connection I / F 508 is an interface for connecting various external devices. In this case, external devices include, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or a printer. The network I / F 509 is an interface for data communication using a communication network. The bus line 510 is an address bus, a data bus, or the like, for electrically connecting the components, such as the CPU 501, shown in FIG. 3.

[0030] The keyboard 511 is a type of input means having multiple keys for inputting characters, numbers, various instructions, etc. The pointing device 512 is a type of input means for selecting and executing various instructions, selecting a processing target, moving a cursor, etc. The DVD-RW drive 514 controls reading and writing of various data from a DVD-RW 513, which is an example of a removable recording medium. Note that this is not limited to a DVD-RW, and may be a DVD-R, etc. The media I / F 516 controls reading and writing (storing) of data from a recording medium 515, such as a flash memory.

[0031] Although the hardware configuration of the PC has been described with reference to FIG. 3, the mail server 108 can also be implemented by adding and deleting hardware components as appropriate.

[0032] 4 is a hardware configuration diagram of a smartphone as a destination information processing device in this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 4, the smartphone 4 includes a CPU 401, a ROM 402, a RAM 403, an EEPROM 404, a CMOS sensor 405, an image sensor I / F 406, an acceleration / direction sensor 407, a media I / F 409, and a GPS receiver 411.

[0033] Of these, the CPU 401 controls the overall operation of the smartphone 4. The ROM 402 stores programs used to drive the CPU 401, such as the CPU 401 and the IPL. The RAM 403 is used as a work area for the CPU 401. The EEPROM 404 reads and writes various data, such as smartphone programs, under the control of the CPU 401. The CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensor 405 is a type of built-in imaging device that captures an image of a subject (mainly a self-portrait) and obtains image data under the control of the CPU 401. Note that instead of a CMOS sensor, an imaging device such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor may also be used. The imaging element I / F 406 is a circuit that controls the operation of the CMOS sensor 405. The acceleration / azimuth sensor 407 is a sensor such as an electronic magnetic compass or gyrocompass that detects geomagnetism, or an acceleration sensor. The media I / F 409 controls the reading and writing (storage) of data from and to a recording medium 408, such as a flash memory. The GPS receiver 411 receives GPS signals from GPS satellites.

[0034] The smartphone 4 also includes a long-distance communication circuit 412, a CMOS sensor 413, an image sensor I / F 414, a microphone 415, a speaker 416, an audio input / output I / F 417, a display 418, an external device connection I / F (Interface) 419, a short-distance communication circuit 420, an antenna 420a of the short-distance communication circuit 420, and a touch panel 421.

[0035] Of these, the long-distance communication circuit 412 is a circuit that communicates with other devices via a communication network. The CMOS sensor 413 is a type of built-in imaging means that captures an image of a subject and obtains image data under the control of the CPU 401. The imaging element I / F 414 is a circuit that controls the driving of the CMOS sensor 413. The microphone 415 is a built-in circuit that converts sound into an electrical signal. The speaker 416 is a built-in circuit that converts the electrical signal into physical vibrations to generate sounds such as music and voice. The audio input / output I / F 417 is a circuit that processes the input and output of audio signals between the microphone 415 and the speaker 416 under the control of the CPU 401. The display 418 is a type of display means such as an LCD or organic EL (Electro Luminescence) that displays images of subjects, various icons, etc. The external device connection I / F 419 is an interface for connecting various external devices. The short-distance communication circuit 420 is a communication circuit such as NFC (Near Field Communication) or Bluetooth (registered trademark). The touch panel 421 is a type of input means that allows the user to operate the smartphone 4 by pressing the display 418.

[0036] The smartphone 4 also includes a bus line 410. The bus line 410 is an address bus, a data bus, or the like for electrically connecting the components such as the CPU 401 shown in FIG.

[0037] The hardware configuration of the device has been described above. Below, with reference to FIG. 5, a description will be given of the function of transferring a facsimile document according to this embodiment and managing the viewing state at the transfer destination.

[0038] There is a technology that forwards a received facsimile document to a pre-registered forwarding destination when the document is received by facsimile, but there is a demand for knowing whether the document has been read (read) or not (unread) at the forwarding destination. To meet this demand, a proprietary application can be installed on the destination terminal to manage whether the document has been read or not at the destination terminal when the received document is forwarded. However, it is necessary to install a proprietary application on the destination terminal, and for various reasons, there is a demand for managing read status without installing an application.

[0039] Therefore, the multifunction device 104 (or facsimile transmitting / receiving device 106; hereinafter, the multifunction device 104 will be described as a representative) according to this embodiment transfers image data of documents received by facsimile to a pre-registered forwarding destination using the mail system. The viewing status of the image data of documents received by facsimile is then recorded and managed in the multifunction device 104 using the mail system's mechanism for confirming whether the document has been opened.

[0040] 5 is a block diagram illustrating functions related to facsimile document transfer processing and viewing state management in the multifunction peripheral 104 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the functional block 210 of the controller 910 includes a facsimile service control unit 212 and a hard disk control unit 220. The functional block 230 of the FCU 960 includes a facsimile (FAX) receiving unit 232 and a facsimile (FAX) job control unit 234. Each of these may be configured as a software module running on the controller 910 or the FCU 960, for example.

[0041] The facsimile receiving unit 232 detects an incoming call on the telephone line, executes control based on recommendations such as G3 and G4, and passes image data of the received facsimile document to the facsimile service control unit 212. The facsimile receiving unit 232 constitutes the image receiving means in this embodiment. The facsimile job control unit 234 manages the facsimile reception process as a job and controls its progress.

[0042] The facsimile service control unit 212 controls the facsimile service, and the hard disk control unit 220 stores image data of received facsimile documents as document files in the HD 909. The hard disk control unit 220 corresponds to the HDD controller 908 that controls reading and writing of data from and to the HD 909 shown in FIG.

[0043] The facsimile service control unit 212 according to this embodiment further transfers the image data of received facsimile documents and manages the viewing status at the transfer destination. More specifically, the facsimile service control unit 212 includes a transfer unit 214, a notification receiving unit 216, and a viewing status recording unit 218.

[0044] The forwarding unit 214 attaches the image data of the received facsimile document to a message requesting confirmation of opening, and transmits the message to the forwarding destination user via the network. In a specific embodiment, the message is an email, and in this case, the forwarding destination is a terminal that performs email reception processing for a user who has been pre-registered as the forwarding destination. The forwarding unit 214 constitutes the forwarding means in this embodiment.

[0045] It is assumed here that general settings for email forwarding of received facsimile documents have already been configured. In other words, it is assumed that initial settings for email transmission, such as the SMTP server name and IP address, the MFP's email address, port number, and authentication information such as password, as well as forwarding conditions for received facsimile documents and the email address to which received facsimile documents are to be forwarded, have been set in advance. Note that the forwarding conditions can be set to target all received facsimile documents, documents received from a specific sender number, or documents received on a specific day of the week or during a specific time period.

[0046] When adding image data to a message, the image data of the received facsimile document can be sent as an email attachment, but it is preferable to use HTML (HyperText Markup Language) format for the email and paste the image data into the message body. The image data can be in any image format, including, but not limited to, bitmap, JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), PNG (Portable Network Graphics), and GIF (Graphics Interchange Format).

[0047] The recipient is requested to confirm the opening of the email in accordance with a predetermined email protocol, and a confirmation of the opening is sent in response to the user opening the email. For example, a confirmation of the opening can be requested by entering the email address of the multifunction device in the Disposition-Notification-To: or X-Confirm-Reading-To: field of the email header. The recipient's mailer, upon receiving the email requesting the confirmation of the opening, will respond to the user's operation by sending a confirmation of the opening email to the email address of the multifunction device.

[0048] The notification receiving unit 216 receives this notification of the confirmation of opening. The notification receiving unit 216 constitutes the notification receiving means in this embodiment. Here, it is assumed that general items related to receiving e-mail have already been set. In other words, it is assumed that initial settings related to receiving e-mail, such as the server name of a POP3 or IMAP server, IP address, port number, password, and other authentication information, have been set in advance.

[0049] The viewing status recording unit 218 records and manages the viewing status (read / unread) of a forwarded received facsimile document at the forwarding destination. Immediately after receiving and storing a received facsimile document, the viewing status recording unit 218 first records and manages the document as unread. The above-mentioned received facsimile document and the e-mail requesting a read confirmation are associated with each other by, for example, an identifier. In response to receiving a read confirmation notice for the e-mail requesting a read confirmation, the viewing status recording unit 218 records the received facsimile document associated with this read confirmation notice as read. In this embodiment, the viewing status indicating read or unread constitutes the confirmation status at the forwarding destination, and the viewing status recording unit 218 constitutes a status recording means.

[0050] The confirmation of opening can be performed using MDN (Message Disposition Notifications), a standard protocol for email, but is not limited to this. In another embodiment, an image specified by a predetermined URL may be embedded in the HTML format email, and the server may detect the loading of the image and, upon receiving a notification from the server, deem the email opened at the forwarding destination. In yet another embodiment, a link for explicitly confirming opening may be embedded in the email, and the server may detect access in response to a user clicking on the link and, upon receiving a notification from the server, deem the email opened at the forwarding destination.

[0051] 6 illustrates the flow of processing during transfer of a facsimile document between the multifunction peripheral 104, the mail server 108, and the personal computer 110 according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 6, in the multifunction peripheral 104, processing begins in response to receiving image data of a document via facsimile communication (S100).

[0052] Next, the multifunction device 104 sets the view status of the facsimile-received document to unread (S101). Then, the multifunction device 104 creates an email addressed to the forwarding email address, with image data of the document pasted in the email body (S102), and executes a sending process for this email (S103). This email requests confirmation of opening using the mechanism described above. The mail server 108 accepts the sending process for this email and executes a process for delivering it to the email address specified as the destination.

[0053] Once the delivery process is complete, the personal computer 110 of the forwarding destination performs a process of receiving the email using, for example, an appropriate mailer (S104). At this time, the user can select the email on the mailer and view the image data attached to the email. Then, in response to the display (opening) of the contents of the email by the mailer, the mailer sends an open confirmation notice to the source of the open confirmation request (S105). In a specific embodiment, the open confirmation is sent by the mail server 108 as a reply to the email address of the multifunction peripheral 104, which is the reply destination, and the multifunction peripheral 104 performs a process of receiving the open confirmation notice (S106). In response to this, the multifunction peripheral 104 changes the viewing status of the document associated with the email corresponding to the open confirmation notice from unread to read (S107).

[0054] 7 is a flowchart showing a transfer process when a facsimile is received, which is executed by the multifunction peripheral 104 according to this embodiment. The process shown in FIG. 7 starts from step S200 in response to detection of a facsimile reception.

[0055] In step S201, the multifunction peripheral 104 receives an incoming facsimile communication addressed to itself and receives image data of the document via the facsimile receiving unit 232. In step S202, the multifunction peripheral 104 stores the document in the HD 909 via the hard disk control unit 220, and records and manages the document as unread via the viewing status recording unit 218.

[0056] 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the data structure of a viewing status management table 250 managed by the multifunction peripheral 104 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the viewing status management table 250 includes a column 252 for recording a document identifier (ID), a column 254 for recording a forwarding destination, and a column 256 for recording a viewing status of read or unread. Immediately after a document is stored, the viewing status is set to "unread."

[0057] 7, in step S203, multifunction device 104 creates an email addressed to a pre-registered email address and including image data of the received facsimile document. In step S204, multifunction device 104 causes forwarding unit 214 to send the email including the image data of the received facsimile document to the pre-registered forwarding destination via mail server 108, and then proceeds to step S205.

[0058] In step S205, the multifunction peripheral 104 waits for an open confirmation notice for the sent e-mail and determines whether or not the open confirmation notice has been received. If it is determined in step S205 that the open confirmation notice has not yet been received (NO), the process branches to step S206. In step S206, the multifunction peripheral 104 determines whether or not a timeout has occurred. If it is determined in step S206 that a timeout has not occurred (NO), the process loops to step S205. If it is determined in step S205 that the open confirmation notice has been received (YES), the process proceeds to step S207.

[0059] In step S207, the multifunction device 104 records and manages the document associated with the email for which the read confirmation notice has been received (the read confirmation and the email are associated with each other by a message ID or the like) as read by the viewing status recording unit 218, and ends the process in step S208. After receiving the read confirmation notice for the email that forwards the document, the viewing status becomes "read", as shown in the example of FIG.

[0060] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S206 that a timeout has occurred (YES), the process ends in step S208, and subsequent tracking of the browsing state is discontinued.

[0061] According to the embodiments described above, it is possible to provide an image communication device, an image communication system, an image communication method, and a program that enable management of read and unread status of received images at the transfer destination without installing special software.

[0062] In particular, since it is possible to manage read and unread status of received facsimile documents using standard email protocols, the destination device only needs a standard email client or, in the case of cloud email, a web browser. Since there is no need to install a dedicated application on the destination device, the administrator's management workload can be reduced.

[0063] Each function of the above-described embodiments can be realized by one or more processing circuits. Here, the term "processing circuit" in this specification includes a processor programmed to perform each function by software, such as a processor implemented by an electronic circuit, as well as devices such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a conventional circuit module designed to perform each of the above-described functions.

[0064] The above has described the embodiments and examples of the present invention, but the embodiments and examples of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments and examples, and may be modified within the scope of what a person skilled in the art could conceive, such as other embodiments, other examples, additions, changes, deletions, etc., and any aspect is included in the scope of the present invention as long as it exhibits the functions and effects of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 100...network environment, 102...Internet, 103...public switched telephone network, 104...multifunction printer, 106...facsimile transmitting / receiving device, 108...mail server, 110...personal computer, 112...smartphone, 210, 230...functional block, 212...facsimile service control unit, 214...transfer unit, 216...notification receiving unit, 218...viewing status recording unit, 220...hard disk control unit, 232...facsimile receiving unit, 234...facsimile job control unit, 250...viewing status management table, 9...multifunction machine, 910...controller, 901...CPU, 902...system memory (MEM-P), 903...north bridge (NB), 904...south bridge (SB), 906...ASIC, 907...local memory (MEM-C), 908...HDD controller, 909...HD, 920...short-range communication circuit, 921...AGP bus, 930...engine control unit, 931...scanner unit, 932...printer unit, 940...operation panel, 940a...panel display unit, 940b...operation panel, 950...network I / F, 960...FCU [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0066] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-348310

Claims

1. image receiving means for receiving image data; a transfer means for transferring the received image data attached to a message requesting confirmation of opening by embedding the image data in the message body; a notification receiving means for receiving an opening confirmation notification in response to detection of reading of the image embedded in the message body; a status recording means for recording a confirmation status at the transfer destination of the image data based on the opening confirmation notice; An image communication device comprising:

2. 2. The image communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image receiving means is a means for receiving a facsimile, said message is an e-mail, and said status recording means records the read status when receiving a notice of confirmation of opening.

3. An image communication system including an image communication device and an information processing device, wherein the image communication device image receiving means for receiving image data; a transfer means for transferring the received image data attached to a message requesting confirmation of opening by embedding the image data in the message body; a notification receiving means for receiving an opening confirmation notification in response to detection of reading of the image embedded in the message body; a status recording means for recording a confirmation status at the transfer destination of the image data based on the opening confirmation notice; The information processing device includes: A notification sending means for sending a confirmation of opening of the message in response to the opening of the message. A visual communication system comprising:

4. 4. The image communication system according to claim 3, wherein said image receiving means is a means for receiving a facsimile, said message is an e-mail, and said status recording means records the read status when receiving a confirmation of opening.

5. An image communication method, comprising: receiving image data; forwarding the received image data attached to a message requesting a confirmation of opening by embedding the image data in the message body; receiving a read receipt notification in response to detecting a reading of the image embedded in the message body; a step of recording a confirmation status at the transfer destination of the image data based on the opening confirmation notice; Included are image communication methods.

6. The image communication device includes an information processing device, receiving the message; sending a read confirmation notification in response to the message being opened; The image communication method according to claim 5 , further comprising:

7. 7. The image communication method according to claim 5, wherein the step of receiving the image data includes a step of receiving a facsimile, the message is an email, and the step of recording includes a step of recording a read status when an opening confirmation notification is received.

8. A program for realizing an image communication device, comprising: image receiving means for receiving image data; a transfer means for transferring the received image data attached to a message requesting confirmation of opening by embedding the image data in the message body; notification receiving means for receiving a read confirmation notification in response to detection of reading of the image embedded in the message body; a status recording means for recording a confirmation status at the transfer destination of the image data based on the opening confirmation notice; A program to function as a

9. 9. The program according to claim 8, wherein the image receiving means is a means for receiving a facsimile, the message is an e-mail, and the status recording means records the read status when a read confirmation notice is received.

Images