Facsimile and static presentation processing – Facsimile – Specific signal processing circuitry
Reexamination Certificate
1996-11-25
2001-09-11
Grant, II, Jerome (Department: 2624)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Facsimile
Specific signal processing circuitry
C379S100010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06288799
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image communicating apparatus and, more particularly, to an image communicating apparatus which can transmit image data to communication destinations over the Internet.
(2) Description of Related Art
Utilization of various image communicating apparatus such as facsimiles and the like is significantly spreading in recent years. The facsimile is an apparatus which scans an original to read image data, compresses [in MH (Modified Huffman Coding)/MR (Modified Relative element address designate coding)/MMR (Modified Modified Relative element address designate coding)] the image data, outputs the data by virtue of a coding/decoding apparatus (a modem) and a line controlling (network controlling) apparatus over a telephone line to communicate a destination of communication. When a received signal is expanded, the data of the image is expanded by the coding/decoding apparatus, then the image becomes visible by a function of a recording unit.
On the other hand, the Internet has been rapidly spreading for years. This rapid spread of the Internet arises a subject of affinity between the facsimile apparatus and the Internet since use of the facsimile apparatus is generalized. For this, it is desirable that the facsimile apparatus can be easily connected to the Internet.
However, the present situation is that there has been found no connection in a data format or the like between the Internet and facsimile apparatus because the data description (HTML: Hyper Text Markup Language) in WWW (World Wide Web) in the Internet is a plain text which is quite different from bit information of a facsimile apparatus. Further, HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) is used as an upper communication protocol, while TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)/IP (Internet Protocol) is used as a lower communication protocol in WWW of Internet. In order to connect the facsimile apparatus to the Internet, it is necessary to incorporate a retailed software such as Mosaic, Netscape or the like as a browser software in the facsimile apparatus. Actually, incorporation of such a software in the facsimile apparatus is difficult in the light of the price and the like. If the demand to connect the facsimile apparatus to the Internet is discussed including an OS (Operating System), it is necessary to step into the field of personal computers rather than the facsimile apparatus.
In the light of the above problem, an object of the present invention is to provide an image communicating apparatus having a simple structure, which can convert or process image data read out by an image reading means into information which can be treated in a higher degree in the Internet, besides being able to transmit the processed image ata to a terminal apparatus used to process data connected to Internet, and a communicating system using the above mage communicating apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention therefore provides an image communicating apparatus comprising an image reading means for reading an original, document. A data inputting means inputs various direction data, and an image storage stores received image data and image data that should be transmitted. An image recording means prints out the image data stored in the image storage and a communication controlling means controls an operation to transmit and receive data over a communication line. A description form generating means generats a data description configuration which can be treated in the Internet, and an outputting means relates the data description form generated by the description form generating means to the image data stored in the image storage to output them to the Internet.
According to this invention, the image communicating apparatus with the above arrangement is connected to a terminal apparatus used to process data which operates to connect to the Internet, so as to the send image data to Internet only by transferring the image data to the terminal apparatus. If a facsimile apparatus is used as the image communicating apparatus to accomplish the above function, it is sufficient that the facsimile apparatus meets Class F standard (there are a format rule and the like of G
3
facsimiles). As the terminal apparatus, a personal computer or a work station is used. In the system, bidirectional parallel peripheral interfaces are used when data is outputted from the image communicating apparatus to the terminal apparatus or data is inputted to image communicating apparatus from the terminal apparatus. The image communicating apparatus is provided with standard R232-C interfaces along with the bidirectional parallel peripheral interfaces. The terminal apparatus may optionally include a LAN connecting unit connectable to a network as an option so as to transfer data to the terminal apparatus over the network. To accomplish this optional function, there are required a physical board and a communication protocol/application software necessary in the network.
In the image communicating apparatus with the above arrangement of this invention, the description form generating means converts data (image data) of the facsimile into a data description (HTML) adaptable to the Internet which has different data description, communication protocol and address form, or adds the data description to the data (image data) upon communication of the image data through Internet. The data converted into the data description or added the data description by the description form generating means in the image communicating apparatus is transferred to the personal computer, which is the terminal apparatus, through the standardized bidirectional parallel peripheral interface, then outputted to the Internet.
Standard of the bidirectional parallel peripheral interface for the personal computer conforms IEEE1284. As a description language used in the Internet, there are VRML, Hotjave and the like other than HTML. It is assumed in this invention that HTTP is used as an upper communication protocol.
The image communicating apparatus of this invention may automatically make a model of an HTML document structure inside the facsimile apparatus such that image data read out by the image reading means is adapted to the HTML data description, thereby coping with both a case where the image data of information of the original is treated as a GIF (Graphical Image File) and described in HTML, and a case where the image data is defined in TIFF (Tag Image File Format). In TIFF, attribute information about data is defined in order to keep compatibility of the data between apparatus. In TIFF, information is defined with a tag name and numerical values (Tag defines the number of mains-canning lines, the number of sub-scanning lines, monochromatic, and so on, for example). In the image communicating apparatus, it is therefore possible to select and designate either or both a case where image data read out by the image reading unit is treated as a GIF in HTML document description or/and a case where the image data is treated as TIFF file in the HTML document description to process the image data in (a) selected/designated manner(s). A difference between them is that the GIF is simple image data, whereas TIFF file is data having been undergone data compression (MH, MR, or the like) in the facsimile apparatus to which definition information (the number of main-scanning lines, the number of sub-scanning lines, a compression method, etc.) is added to keep compatibility of data between apparatus.
In the case of WWW in Internet, data is described in HTML so that an image communicating apparatus such as a facsimile apparatus or the like uses an image information tag <img src==/XXXXX.gif> or <img scr==XXXXX.tiff> described in image data and HTML to indicate whether data is a bit data file or data having been undergone a process such as compression or the like. HTML description in which image information is described may be automatically generated with a model of HTML. Th
Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz
Grant II Jerome
Matsushita Graphic Communication Systems Inc.
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