Internet facsimile machine

Claim 2

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a content of subaddress information is set in one of a Subject field of said electronic mail message and a predetermined area of a message body of said electronic mail message.

Claim 3

An Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) connected to a local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) connected via a leased line to an Internet service provider, and having a function of exchanging electronic mail messages over the local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) and the Internet, and a function of exchanging facsimile data using a public network according to a facsimile transmission procedure, characterized by comprising: subaddress information table means for storing subaddress information received according to the facsimile transmission procedure, repeater mail addresses of the Internet facsimile machines (FI1, FI2) that provide a repeater operation for information destined to a terminal (FX1, FX2) associated with the subaddress, and destination mail addresses of the Internet facsimile machines (FI1, FI2) designated as a destination, in such a way as to relate each of the subaddresses to the corresponding repeater mail address or the corresponding destination mail address; mail address retrieving means for searching said subaddress information table means to retrieve one of the repeater mail address and the destination mail address that corresponds to the subaddress received according to the facsimile transmission procedure; repeater operation requesting means for requesting, when the repeater mail address is retrieved by said mail address retrieving means, the Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) associated with the repeater mail address retrieved by said mail address retrieving means to repeat received image information to the terminal (FX1, FX2) associated with the subaddress, by sending an electronic mail message to said Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) associated with the retrieved mail address; and transmitting means for transmitting, when the destination mail address is retrieved by said mail address retrieving means, the received image information to the Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) associated with the destination mail address retrieved by said mail address retrieving means, by sending an electronic mail message to said Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) associated with the retrieved destination mail address.

Claim 4

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that said electronic mail message contains data produced by converting the received image information into message body data of a predetermined type.

Claim 5

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that said electronic mail message contains data produced by converting the received image information into message body data of a predetermined type.

Claim 6

An Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) connected to a local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) connected via a leased line to an Internet service provider, and having a function of exchanging electronic mail messages over the local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) and the Internet, and a function of exchanging facsimile data using a public network according to a facsimile transmission procedure, characterized by comprising: destination management information storage means for storing mail addresses used to exchange data with compatible Internet facsimile machines (FI1, FI2) over the Internet, and telephone numbers used to exchange data with compatible Internet facsimile machines (FI1, FI2) over the public network, in such a way as to relate each of the mail addresses to the corresponding telephone number; determining means for determining whether a destination telephone number specified by a user input is registered in said destination management information storage means; Internet transmission means for retrieving, when said determining means yields an affirmative answer, the mail address that corresponds to the specified destination telephone number from said destination management information storage means, for converting image information to be transmitted into message body data for an electronic mail message, for setting the retrieved mail address as a destination mail address of the electronic mail message, and for transmitting the resultant electronic mail message to the compatible Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) via the local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) over the Internet; and public network transmission for originating, when said determining means yields a negative answer, a call to a destination terminal (FX1, FX2) associated with the specified destination telephone number using the public network, and for transmitting the image information to the destination terminal (FX1, FX2) in accordance with a predetermined facsimile transmission procedure.

Claim 7

An Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) connected to a local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) connected via a leased line to an Internet service provider, and having a function of exchanging electronic mail messages over the local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) and the Internet, and a function of exchanging facsimile data using a public network according to a facsimile transmission procedure, characterized by comprising: destination management information storage means for storing mail addresses used to exchange data with compatible Internet facsimile machines (FI1, FI2) over the Internet, telephone numbers used to exchange data with compatible Internet facsimile machines (FI1, FI2) over the public network, and end terminal telephone numbers used to exchange data with an end terminal (FX1, FX2) served by a repeater operation of the compatible Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) associated with the telephone number, in such a way as to relate each of the mail addresses to the corresponding telephone number and the end terminal telephone number; determining means for determining whether a destination telephone number specified by a user input is registered as one of the end terminal telephone numbers in said destination management information storage means; Internet transmission means for retrieving, when said determining means yields an affirmative answer, the mail address that corresponds to the specified destination telephone number from said destination management information storage means, for converting image information to be transmitted into message body data for an electronic mail message, for setting the retrieved mail address in a To field of a header information of the electronic mail message, for setting the specified destination telephone number in a Subject field of the header information of the electronic mail message, and for transmitting the resultant electronic mail message to the compatible Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) providing the repeater operation, via the local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) over the Internet; reception means for receiving electronic mail; and reverse conversion means for subjecting the message body data of a received electronic mail message to reverse conversion so as to reproduce image information, when one of the end terminal telephone numbers is set in the Subject field of the header information of the received electronic mail message; forwarding means for originating a call to the end terminal (FX1, FX2) associated with the end terminal telephone number found in the Subject field, using a public network, so as to transmit the image information reproduced by said reverse conversion means to the end terminal (FX1, FX2).

Claim 8

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that the end terminal telephone number is converted into a domestic number compatible with the corresponding telephone number registered in said destination management information storage means, before being set in the Subject field of the header information of the electronic mail message.

Claim 9

An Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) connected to a local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) connected via a leased line to an Internet service provider, and having a function of exchanging electronic mail messages over the local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) and the Internet, and a function of exchanging facsimile data using a public network according to a facsimile transmission procedure, characterized by comprising: destination management information storage means for storing mail addresses used to exchange data with compatible Internet facsimile machines (FI1, FI2) over the Internet, telephone numbers used to exchange data with compatible Internet facsimile machines (FI1, FI2) over the public network, and end terminal telephone numbers used to exchange data with an end terminal (FX1, FX2) served by a repeater operation of the compatible Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) associated with the telephone number, in such a way as to relate each of the mail addresses to the corresponding telephone number and the end terminal telephone number; determining means for determining whether a destination telephone number specified by a user input is registered as one of the telephone numbers in said destination management information storage means; Internet transmission means for retrieving, when said determining means yields an affirmative answer, the mail address that corresponds to the specified destination telephone number from said destination management information storage means, for converting image information to be transmitted into message body data for an electronic mail message, for setting the retrieved mail address in a To field of a header information of the electronic mail message, for setting a predetermined fixed value in a Subject field of the header information of the electronic mail message, and for transmitting the resultant electronic mail message to the compatible Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) providing the repeater operation, via the local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) over the Internet; reception means for receiving electronic mail; and outputting means for subjecting, when said predetermined fixed value is set in the Subject field of the header information of a received electronic mail message, the message body data of the received electronic mail message to reverse conversion so as to reproduce image information, for decoding the reproduced image information into original image data, and for recording and outputting an image constructed by said image data.

Claim 10

An Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) connected to a local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) connected via a leased line to an Internet service provider, and having a function of exchanging electronic mail messages over the local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) and the Internet, and a function of exchanging facsimile data using a public network according to a facsimile transmission procedure, characterized by comprising: destination management information storage means for storing mail addresses used to exchange data with compatible Internet facsimile machines (FI1, FI2) over the Internet, telephone numbers used to exchange data with compatible Internet facsimile machines (FI1, FI2) over the public network, and end terminal telephone numbers used to exchange data with an end terminal (FX1, FX2) served by a repeater operation of the compatible Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) associated with the telephone number, in such a way as to relate each of the mail addresses to the corresponding telephone number and the end terminal telephone number; determining means for determining whether a destination telephone number specified by a user input is registered as one of the end terminal telephone numbers in said destination management information storage means; Internet transmission means for retrieving, when said determining means yields an affirmative answer, the mail address that corresponds to the specified destination telephone number from said destination management information storage means, for converting image information to be transmitted into message body data for an electronic mail message, for setting the retrieved mail address in a To field of a header information of the electronic mail message, for setting the specified destination telephone number in a predetermined area of a message body of the electronic mail message, and for transmitting the resultant electronic mail message to the compatible Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) providing the repeater operation, via the local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) over the Internet; reception means for receiving electronic mail; reverse conversion means for subjecting the message body data of a received electronic mail message to reverse conversion so as to reproduce image information, when one of the end terminal telephone numbers is set in said predetermined area of the message body of the received electronic mail message; and forwarding means for originating a call to the end terminal (FX1, FX2) associated with the end terminal telephone number found in said predetermined area of the message body, using a public network, so as to transmit the image information reproduced by said reverse conversion means to the end terminal (FX1, FX2).

Claim 11

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the end terminal telephone number is converted into a domestic number compatible with the corresponding telephone number registered in said destination management information storage means, before being set in said predetermined area of the message body of the electronic mail message.

Claim 12

An Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) connected to a local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) connected via a leased line to an Internet service provider, and having a function of exchanging electronic mail messages over the local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) and the Internet, and a function of exchanging facsimile data using a public network according to a facsimile transmission procedure, characterized by comprising: destination management information storage means for storing mail addresses used to exchange data with compatible Internet facsimile machines (FI1, FI2) over the Internet, telephone numbers used to exchange data with compatible Internet facsimile machines (FI1, FI2) over the public network, and end terminal telephone numbers used to exchange data with an end terminal (FX1, FX2) served by a repeater operation of the compatible Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) associated with the telephone number, in such a way as to relate each of the mail addresses to the corresponding telephone number and the end terminal telephone number; determining means for determining whether a destination telephone number specified by a user input is registered as one of the telephone numbers in said destination management information storage means; Internet transmission means for retrieving, when said determining means yields an affirmative answer, the mail address that corresponds to the specified destination telephone number from said destination management information storage means, for converting image information to be transmitted into message body data for an electronic mail message, for setting the retrieved mail address in a To field of a header information of the electronic mail message, for setting a predetermined fixed value in a predetermined area of a message body of the electronic mail message, and for transmitting the resultant electronic mail message to the compatible Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) providing the repeater operation, via the local area network (LAN 1, LAN 2) over the Internet; reception means for receiving electronic mail; and outputting means for subjecting, when said predetermined fixed value is set in said predetermined area of the message body of a received electronic mail message, the message body data of the received electronic mail message to reverse conversion so as to reproduce image information, for decoding the reproduced image information into original image data, and for recording and outputting an image constructed by said image data.

Claim 13

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that a mail address for this-machine is set in a From field of header information the electronic mail message.

Claim 14

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that a mail address for this-machine is set in a From field of the header information the electronic mail message.

Claim 15

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that a mail address for this-machine is set in a From field of the header information the electronic mail message.

Claim 16

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that a mail address for this-machine is set in a From field of the header information the electronic mail message.

Claim 17

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that a mail address for this-machine is set in a From field of the header information the electronic mail message.

Claim 18

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 14, characterized in that a report electronic mail message for reporting on a result of transmission is produced after the received electronic mail message has been processed, and said report electronic mail message is sent to the mail address set in the From field of the header information of the received electronic mail message.

Claim 19

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 15, characterized in that a report electronic mail message for reporting on a result of transmission is produced after the received electronic mail message has been processed, and said report electronic mail message is sent to the mail address set in the From field of the header information of the received electronic mail message.

Claim 20

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 16, characterized in that a report electronic mail message for reporting on a result of transmission is produced after the received electronic mail message has been processed, and said report electronic mail message is sent to the mail address set in the From field of the header information of the received electronic mail message.

Claim 21

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 17, characterized in that a report electronic mail message for reporting on a result of transmission is produced after the received electronic mail message has been processed, and said report electronic mail message is sent to the mail address set in the From field of the header information of the received electronic mail message.

Claim 22

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that a mail address for this-machine is set in a From field of header information the electronic mail message, a report electronic mail message for reporting on a result of transmission is produced after the received electronic mail message has been processed, and said report electronic mail message is sent to the mail address set in the From field of the header information of the received electronic mail message, a predetermined fixed value being set in the Subject field of the header information of said report electronic mail message.

Claim 23

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 12, characterized in that a mail address for this-machine is set in a From field of header information the electronic mail message, a report electronic mail message for reporting on a result of transmission is produced after the received electronic mail message has been processed, and said report electronic mail message is sent to the mail address set in the From field of the header information of the received electronic mail message, a predetermined fixed value being set in a predetermined area of a message body of said report electronic mail message.

Claim 24

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 6, characterized by further comprising setting means for specifying whether the image information is to be transmitted in the form of electronic mail.

Claim 25

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 7, characterized by further comprising setting means for specifying whether the image information is to be transmitted in the form of electronic mail.

Claim 26

The Internet facsimile machine (FI1, FI2) as claimed in claim 10, characterized by further comprising setting means for specifying whether the image information is to be transmitted in the form of electronic mail.