Facsimile Job Management with Thumbnail Retransmission
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Solution Overview
Problem
In existing facsimile transmission systems, retransmitting image data requires re-reading and re-setting the document, making the process time-consuming and labor-intensive, as the history web page lacks information about the specific image data transmitted, necessitating manual recall of documents.
Innovation Solution
A facsimile job managing apparatus with a storing unit, storage control unit, and history-display-user-interface providing unit that stores and displays image data and transmission outcomes, allowing for thumbnail images and retransmission buttons for unsuccessful transmissions, enabling direct retransmission without re-reading or re-setting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the MFP reads a document again and generates image data for retransmission, then the image data can be transmitted by facsimile, but time and labor are required to perform transmission work again from the beginning
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by reading the document and generating image data during the initial transmission attempt. The image data is stored in the storage unit, so when retransmission is needed, the system can directly use the pre-generated image data without repeating the document reading and image generation processes, thereby reducing retransmission time
2Device complexity
If the transmission history web page includes only transmission date and time and destination, then the web page structure is simple, but it is unknown what kind of image data the MFP transmits by facsimile
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a visual copy (thumbnail image) of the original image data and displays it on the transmission history web page. This thumbnail provides visual information about the transmitted document without requiring complex data structures, allowing users to identify transmitted images while maintaining relatively simple web page architecture
3Ease of manufacture
If the transmission history web page includes only transmission date and time and destination, then the web page is easy to implement, but manual recall of documents is necessary for retransmission
Solution Approach 1:
The system displays thumbnail images on the transmission history web page that visually represent the transmitted documents. Users can easily identify and select the desired document for retransmission by viewing the thumbnail, eliminating the need for manual recall of document contents while adding minimal implementation complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds a visual dimension (image thumbnails) to the transmission history display, transforming the interface from text-only (date, time, destination) to include visual representation of the transmitted content. This dimensional enhancement improves ease of operation without significantly increasing implementation difficulty
Data Source
AI summary
According to one embodiment, a facsimile job managing apparatus includes a storing unit, a storage control unit, a history-display-user-interface providing unit, and a transmission processing unit. The storage control unit causes the storing unit to store image data transmitted by facsimile and the outcome of the facsimile transmission processing in association with each other. The history-display-user-interface providing unit provides a client terminal with a history display user interface for acquiring the image data transmitted by facsimile and the outcome of the facsimile transmission processing from the storing unit, displaying a thumbnail image of the image data transmitted by facsimile and outcome information indicating the outcome of the facsimile transmission processing in association with each other, and displaying a retransmission button in association with a thumbnail image of image data unsuccessfully transmitted by facsimile. If the retransmission button is selected in the client terminal, the transmission processing unit transmits image data corresponding to a thumbnail image related to the retransmission button by facsimile.