US 5,881,233 AGranted

Facsimile mail apparatus

AssigneeMatsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

InventorsKiyoshi Toyoda, Tatsuo Bandou, Toshihisa Sawada

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Abstract

An electronic mail system connected to a network includes a section for converting an image of a document surface into corresponding document image data, and a section for compressing the document image data into compression-resultant image data. The electronic mail system also includes a section for converting the compression-resultant image data into corresponding image data of a given electronic-mail format, a section for receiving information of an electronic-mail destination address, and a section for transmitting the image data of the electronic-mail format toward the electronic-mail destination address via the network. The electronic mail system may further include a section for receiving image data in an electronic mail, a section for converting the received image data into corresponding received image data of a given facsimile format, a section for expanding the received image data of the facsimile format into expansion-resultant image data, and a section for printing the expansion-resultant image data.

Claims27

Dependent claims

A facsimile which automatically receives facsimile data transmitted from a sender and sends image data of a paper document to an addressed destination, comprising:

an operation panel having a start-key to start a transmitting operation and an inputting key to input an electronic mail destination address;
a scanner for scanning a paper document and converting the paper document into image data;
compression means for compressing the scanned image data;
a facsimile transmitting and receiving unit which negotiates with a sender or destination facsimile before receiving or transmitting image data, for transmitting the compressed image data in a facsimile format to the destination facsimile via the telephone network and receiving a compressed image data in the facsimile format from the sender via the telephone network;
a first data converting means for converting the compressed image data into an electronic-mail format;
electronic-mail transmitting means for transmitting the compressed image data converted into the electronic-mail format to a destination address inputted from said inputting key on a network in which transmitting and receiving of an electronic-mail is possible;
electronic mail receiving means for receiving the image data converted into the electronic mail format from a sender via a communication network;
a second data converting means for converting the image data into facsimile format;
expansion means for expanding compressed image data which includes the image data received by said facsimile transmitting and receiving unit and a compressed image data converted by said second data converting means;
and
a printer for printing the image data expanded by said expansion means;
wherein said operation panel, said scanner, said compression means, facsimile transmitting and receiving unit, said first data converting means, said electronic mail transmitting means, said electronic mail receiving means, said second data converting means, said expansion means and said printer are integrated into said facsimile machine, and
said scanner, said compression means, said first data converting means and said electronic mail transmitting means are sequentially operated in the order for transmit the image data in electronic mail format when said start-key is pushed after setting the paper document on said scanner and the finishing the input of the destination address of an electronic mail.

10 more elements

A facsimile mail apparatus comprising:

a scanner for scanning a document and converting the document into image data;
address inputting means for inputting an electronic-mail destination address;
compression means for compressing the scanned image data;
a first data converting means for converting the compressed image data into an electronic-mail format;
electronic-mail transmitting means for transmitting the image data converted into the electronic-mail format to the destination address over a network in which transmitting and receiving of electronic-mail is possible;
a start-key means for allowing a transmitting operation to start;
transmitting controlling means for operating said scanner, said compression means, said converting means and said electronic-mail transmitting means when said start-key means is enabled;
electronic-mail receiving means for receiving the electronic-mail image data via the network in which transmitting and receiving of electronic-mail is possible;
a second data converting means for converting the received electronic-mail image data into facsimile data format;
a first expanding means for expanding the image data converted into the facsimile data format;
printing means for printing the expanded facsimile data format image data
detecting means for detecting a specific character code sequence from the electronic-mail received by said electronic-mail receiving means;
command executing mean for extracting a command from the received electronic-mail and for executing a process corresponding to the command when the specific character code sequence is detected, including extracting a list of destination addresses from the received electronic-mail, and storing the list of destination addresses in a memory when the character code sequence indicates a request to register the list of destination addresses;
wherein said detecting means detects a sender ID from the received mail, to identify the sender of the received mail, and said command executing means correlates the detected sender ID with the extracted list of destination address and stores the detected sender ID with the extracted list of destination addresses in the memory.

11 more elements

A facsimile mail apparatus comprising:

a scanner for scanning a document and converting the document into image data;
address inputting means for inputting an electronic-mail destination address;
compression means for compressing the scanned image data;
a first data converting means for converting the compressed image data into an electronic-mail format;
electronic-mail transmitting means for transmitting the image data converted into the electronic-mail format to the destination address over a network in which transmitting and receiving of an electronic-mail is possible;
a start-key means for allowing a transmitting operation to start;
transmitting controlling means for operating said scanner said compression means, said converting means and said electronic-mail transmitting means when said start-key means is enabled;
electronic-mail receiving means for receiving the electronic-mail image data via the network in which transmitting and receiving of electronic-mail is possible;
a second data converting means for converting the received electronic-mail image data into facsimile data format;
a first expanding means for expanding the image data converted into the facsimile data format;
printing means for printing the expanded facsimile data format image data;
detecting means for detecting a specific character code sequence from the electronic-mail received by said electronic-mail receiving means;
a memory for storing an address of an electronic mail sender;
command executing mean for extracting a command from the received electronic-mail and for executing a process corresponding to the command when the specific character code sequence is detected, including extracting the electronic-mail sender address from said character code sequence and storing the electronic-mail sender address in the memory when the character code sequence indicates a request to register an electronic-mail sender address;
wherein said command executing means correlates the detected sender ID with the extracted sender address and stores the detected sender ID and the extracted sender address in the memory;
and
means for inputting the sender ID of the sender who is sending image data via the communication network in which transmitting and receiving of an electronic-mail is possible;
identifying means for identifying the inputted sender ID with the sender ID stored in the memory;
reading means for reading the registered sender address correlated with the sender ID from the memory after said sender is identified by said identifying means;
and
writing means for writing the read sender address in the header of the electronic-mail of image data to be sent over said communication network.

18 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/608,199Filed 28 Feb 1996
Priority: JP 7-0458476 Mar 1995
Granted: 9 Mar 1999
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification20 codes

H04N 1/00212
Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax: attaching…
H04N 1/00209
With a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server: transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a…
H04N 1/00214
Transmitting or receiving image data, e.g. facsimile data, via a computer, e.g. using e-mail, a computer network, the internet, I-fax: details of…
H04N 1/00217
Details of transmission: only involving computer data transmission protocols, e.g. SMTP, WAP or HTTP