JP2005269094A - Network system and network compatible devices - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network system capable of changing the destination or the information transmitting method through operation by a user. <P>SOLUTION: The network system where network compatible apparatus, i.e. a plurality of terminals, and a server are connected through a network has a function (function realizing means, system control section 1) for informing the fact that a terminal specified at the time of transmitting to some terminal on the network is impossible to receive or output to an operator before a transmission terminal begins to transmit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a network system and a network-compatible device capable of automatically switching to a failure notification and substitution receiving terminal.

Today, with the spread of communication infrastructure such as the Internet and LAN, various technologies in networks have been born and developed. In particular, recently, a presence service, which is a function for notifying the state in real time in the instant messaging (IM) technology, has attracted attention.
Presence refers to various states of people and things, etc. Presence service allows these to be disclosed to people and systems that need them, and can be notified in real time when there is a change. It is a service that can be done. In recent years, many MFPs (multifunctional image forming apparatuses), FAX machines, copiers, and the like have a network interface, and various network applications function.
Further, as a related prior art, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for transferring a request for proxy printing to a terminal on a network. Further, in Patent Document 2, the server device performs job allocation, and the server also determines the processing of the proxy terminal. Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for notifying a transmission source of proxy delivery.
JP 2001-067193 A JP 2001-197152 A JP 05-327767 A

By the way, there is a problem that currently general IM handles only simple information such as online / offline.
Therefore, the present invention can change the transmission destination and information transmission method according to the operation of the user, and when the terminal to which the document is to be sent cannot receive and output due to a failure, the transmission is automatically performed without the sender being aware of it. An object of the present invention is to provide a network system and a network-compatible device that can be transmitted to a proxy terminal.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a registered terminal for receiving a device status of each terminal in a network system in which a plurality of terminals that are network-compatible devices and a server device are network-connected. The server device capable of notifying the device state to the device state of the own terminal and the terminal that wants to know the device state can be registered in the server device, and other terminals provided from the server device A network system having a terminal device capable of receiving a device status, and when a terminal specified when transmitting data to a certain terminal on the network cannot be received or output, the transmitting terminal In this case, the operator is notified before transmission.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in a network system in which a plurality of terminals that are network-compatible devices and a server device are connected to a network, the address information of each terminal is received and the address information is notified to the registered terminal. A server device capable of registering the address information of its own terminal and the terminal that wants to know the address information in the server device, and receiving address information of other terminals provided from the server device, A network system including a terminal device capable of storing as address data, wherein when the terminal device is unable to receive or output, an address of the proxy terminal is automatically assigned to the server device. It is characterized by registering in.
The invention according to claim 3 is provided from the server device capable of receiving and managing the registration of the address information of each terminal and notifying address data in response to an inquiry from another terminal. A network system including a terminal device that can transmit using a terminal address and that can register the address of a terminal acting on behalf of the own terminal, wherein the terminal device is incapable of receiving or outputting When this occurs, the address of the proxy terminal is automatically registered in the server device.
In the network system according to claim 2, in the network system according to claims 2 and 3, an administrator and a user can be registered in advance, and when switching to a proxy terminal, the information is notified to the administrator and the user of the terminal. The main feature is a network system having a function to
The invention according to claim 5 is that in the network system according to claims 2 to 4, when recovering from the unreceivable state, the original address is automatically notified to the terminal via the server device or the address is registered to the server. The most important feature is a network system having a function to re-do.
The invention according to claim 6 is mainly characterized by a network-compatible device corresponding to the network system according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

In the present invention, when a remote network-compatible device has a failure when transmitting a document, the transmitting operator can recognize it in real time, so that it can be transmitted to an alternate destination or the transmission method can be changed. This prevents the document from being sent or taking a long time to send.
Also, when a failure occurs in a remote network-compatible device, it is sent to the alternate destination without the sending operator being aware of it, preventing documents from being sent or taking too long to send. be able to. In addition, while the failure occurs, the administrator or user of the network compatible device can save the trouble of making an announcement to a related party who may send it.
In addition, since the network compatible device automatically switches to the proxy terminal when a failure occurs, it is difficult for the administrator and the user to notice, but the notification is sent to the administrator and the user's PC as a message, Since the presence of the received document can be recognized, the reception can be performed smoothly.
Further, when the failure is recovered, the network-compatible device automatically performs address change notification and registration for resuming reception, so that it is possible to save the trouble of the device administrator and the user.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a network-compatible device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As an example, the network compatible device is T.D. The document can be transmitted by real-time facsimile communication according to 38.
The system control unit 1 controls the functions of the entire apparatus. The user I / F unit 2 has various keys and displays necessary for setting and the like. The scanner unit 3 is a unit that reads a document. The plotter unit 4 is a unit that outputs a received document and a report list to paper. The network I / F unit 5 is an interface with a LAN or the Internet, and has a function of exchanging various data via the network.
The protocol creation / analysis unit 6 When transmitting at 38, the protocol is created / analyzed here. The image conversion control unit 7 is a unit that compresses and expands an image, and performs scaling and linear density conversion. The memory unit 8 is a unit that accumulates transmission / reception images and stores destination information. It also manages system setting information and address information.
FIG. 2 is a network configuration diagram. The network-compatible device is a source of received information (PUA: Presence User Agent). The presence server receives and manages presence information (reception information) from a network-compatible device, and notifies the interested user of the status. It also manages users. The administrator of the network-compatible device can select the user who can show the normal information.
A user is a person who views presence information. The user needs to subscribe to the information notification member in advance. However, if the administrator of the network compatible device does not give permission to show to the user, the subscription is rejected and the status reference and status notification are not performed. In the present invention, the network-compatible device itself is a user of another network device except for Example 4 described later.
The proxy server is a server that receives a SIP request from a network-compatible device or another proxy server, and forwards or sends the request to another destination. The location server refers to a database in which routing information related to the SIP-compatible network such as URL and IP address is also stored.
The registration server is a server that receives a SIP registration request and updates UA information registered in a database such as a location server. The redirect server is a server that receives a request from a network-compatible device that is a UA or a proxy server and returns a redirect response. This response describes where to send the request again.

In the first embodiment, when a failure such as a toner end or a service call occurs in a network-compatible device and a document cannot be received and output from another terminal, the device status is registered in the server as presence information, and the network-compatible device Notifications in real time to devices that want to know their presence information. In addition, when it is desired to know the presence information of another terminal, the terminal can be designated and registered.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when a trouble occurs in the network compatible device A20, the failure information is registered in the presence server 21 by itself. In addition, the network compatible devices B22, C23, and D24 who want to know the state of the network compatible device A20 perform registration for notifying the server of information in advance. Therefore, changes that occur in the network compatible device A20 can be known in real time by the network compatible devices B22, C23, and D24.
FIG. 3 shows a registration sequence for disclosing presence information and a sequence diagram for designated registration and change notification of a terminal that wants to know the presence information. The terminal that has received the presence information determines whether the address is registered in the address book managed by the terminal that has changed, and if it is registered, the notified status information is linked and stored ( (Refer FIG. 4 S1-S3).
When sending from the own terminal, if the specified address holds failure information, the operator is warned that a failure has occurred in the terminal to be sent and the other party cannot receive it. (See S11 to S16 in FIG. 5). Therefore, the operator sends the document using another terminal or another method.

When a failure occurs in a device as in the first embodiment, information can be notified to a remote terminal in real time by registering the information in the presence server. However, in the second embodiment, the information notified to the remote terminal is not the failure information or the device status, but the address of the proxy terminal. The remote terminal that has received the notification stores the address of the terminal notified in the address information in a table corresponding to the address (see FIG. 6).
When the document is transmitted using the address book of the network compatible device, if the address of the proxy terminal is registered at the designated address, the document is transmitted to the address of the proxy terminal. Alternatively, it is conceivable that when the address of the proxy terminal is notified, the table data in the address book is rewritten and the transmission operation is always performed while referring to the address as it is during transmission (see FIG. 7).

In the third embodiment, a system is configured by a network compatible device and a SIP server. The address of the proxy terminal can be registered in advance in the network compatible device, and when the device fails and the reception output is disabled, the address of the proxy terminal is sent to the server that manages the network address. By registering, when a document is to be transmitted from a remote to a network-compatible device, it can be transmitted to an alternate terminal and output.
For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the network-compatible device 30 registers the address of its own terminal in the registration server 31 in advance. The registered information is registered in the location server 32 database. However, the location server 32 and the registration server 31 do not need to be physically separated from the proxy servers 33 and 34 as shown in the figure, and may operate on the same host.
When transmitting from the network compatible device A35 to the network compatible device B30, the address information is received via the proxy server 34 and a session is established with the address. Therefore, if a failure occurs in the device, the address of the proxy terminal registered in the device is registered in advance, and a redirect response is returned from the redirect server 36 when attempting to transmit to the network compatible device (see FIG. 9).
At this time, since the address of the proxy terminal is set in the redirect response, the network-compatible device on the transmission side confirms the address to the location server 37 again via the proxy server 34, establishes a session, and transmits the document to the proxy terminal. be able to. FIG. 10 shows an example in which a document is sent by real-time facsimile transmission.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a notification of switching to the proxy terminal of the IM in the case of a failure of the network compatible device. As in the first and second embodiments, the network-compatible device manager 50 and the users 51 and 52 register with the presence server 53 in advance in order to receive notification of device presence information. When a failure occurs in the network compatible device, notification is sent to the proxy terminal. At that time, the address information of the proxy terminal is also notified by a message that can be understood by a human at the same time, so that the message is displayed on the PC messenger software and the like, and the proxy 50 and the users 51 and 52 perform the proxy output. Let them understand.
Also, by displaying the information on the network compatible device A55 on the user I / F or the like, it is possible to confirm where the transfer destination is being transferred to the substitute terminal because a failure has occurred. be able to. In addition, the mail addresses of the administrator 50 and the users 51 and 52 are registered in the network compatible device, and when switching to the proxy terminal, the registered mail address is designated and transmitted to the mail server. A message that can be understood by human beings is set and transmitted in the mail body as in the case of notification by IM.

As in each of the above embodiments, when a failure occurs in a network-compatible device and reception output or the like becomes impossible, the address of the proxy terminal is automatically notified or registered in the server so that there is no problem in document transmission. I was able to. Further, when it is detected that the cause of the failure has been removed and recovered, the network-compatible device notifies the other device of the original address of itself and automatically receives it again from the remote terminal (see FIG. 12).
FIG. 3 shows a notification sequence to a remote network-compatible device due to occurrence and recovery of a failure. Alternatively, the reception is resumed by re-registering the own terminal address with the server after the failure recovery as in the third embodiment.
In the present invention, status information such as the toner end status and service call status of a network-compatible device is notified to other terminals on the network in real time, so that when the remote terminal transmits from the remote terminal, the other party can successfully receive in advance due to a failure. Since it is possible to notify the operator who is trying to transmit a situation that cannot be performed, the transmission destination can be changed or the information transmission method can be changed depending on the operation of the user.
In addition, when the status of the own terminal is in a state such as reception is impossible, the address of the proxy terminal is notified as presence information, and the remote network terminal that receives the notified address transmits the address to that terminal. By transmitting to the terminal, if the terminal to which the document is to be sent cannot receive and output due to a failure, it can be automatically transmitted to the proxy terminal without the sender being aware of it.
In addition, since the actual terminal address is managed on the server, when the terminal cannot receive or output, the address of the substitute terminal is automatically registered in the server, and an attempt is made to send it to the terminal from another terminal. Can be automatically sent to the proxy terminal.

The block block diagram of the network corresponding | compatible apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Network configuration diagram. The figure which shows the update of a status, and a notification sequence example. The flowchart which shows the reception registration operation | movement of public information. The flowchart which shows transmission destination input operation | movement. The figure which shows an example of an address management table. The figure which shows an example of an address management table. The figure which shows location registration and inquiry operation | movement. The figure which shows redirection operation | movement. The figure which shows communication operation. The figure which shows the switch notification to the proxy terminal of IM in the case of the failure of a network corresponding | compatible apparatus. The figure which shows the example which notifies an address by IM at the time of recovery of the failure of a network corresponding | compatible apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 System control part 2 User I / F part 3 Scanner part 4 Plotter part 5 Network I / F part 6 Protocol preparation / analysis part 7 Image conversion control part 8 Memory part

Claims (6)

In a network system in which a plurality of terminals that are network-compatible devices and a server device are network-connected,
A server device capable of receiving the device status of each terminal and notifying the registered terminal of the device status, and registering the device status of the own terminal and the terminal that wants to know the device status to the server device. A network system including a terminal device capable of receiving the device status of another terminal provided from the server device,
A network system characterized by notifying an operator before transmitting at a transmitting terminal when a specified terminal cannot transmit or output data when transmitting data to a certain terminal on the network. In a network system in which a plurality of terminals that are network-compatible devices and a server device are network-connected,
It is possible to register the server device that can receive the address information of each terminal and notify the registered terminal of the address information, and the address information of the own terminal and the terminal that wants to know the address information in the server device. And a network system including a terminal device capable of receiving address information of another terminal provided from the server device and storing it as address data of the terminal,
A network system, wherein the terminal device automatically registers an address of a substitute terminal with the server device when a state incapable of receiving or outputting occurs. The address information of each terminal is received, registered and managed, and transmitted using a server device capable of notifying address data in response to an inquiry from another terminal, and the address of the terminal provided from the server device And a network system including a terminal device capable of registering an address of a terminal acting on behalf of the own terminal,
A network system, wherein the terminal device automatically registers an address of a substitute terminal with the server device when a state incapable of receiving or outputting occurs.   4. The network system according to claim 2, wherein an administrator or a user can be registered in advance, and when switching to the proxy terminal, the information is notified to the administrator and the user of the terminal. system.   5. The network system according to claim 2, wherein when the network system recovers from an unreceivable state, it automatically notifies the terminal of the original address via the server apparatus or reregisters the address with the server apparatus. A characteristic network system. A network-compatible device corresponding to the network system according to claim 1.

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