Abstract:
A data communication apparatus comprises a memory for storing plural data, a transmitter for transmitting the plural stored data, a display for displaying situations of the plural stored data, and a controller for performing, in case of displaying the situations, control to change order of display of the data being transmitted. Thus, the data being transmitted can be easily specified from among the plural stored data, the data being transmitted can be easily specified by changing display forms, the data being transmitted can be easily specified by shifting them to the head of a list and displaying this list, and the data being transmitted can be easily specified by automatically scrolling a display area thereof.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The present invention relates to a data communication apparatus which transmits data stored in a memory, and more particularly, to a data communication apparatus which can display situations of plural transmission-target data stored in a memory.  
           [0003]    2. Related Background Art  
           [0004]    Conventionally, a facsimile apparatus which stores plural documents in a memory and sequentially transmits the stored documents to a communication partner has been known.  
           [0005]    In such the facsimile apparatus, there is a type which causes a display panel on an operation unit to display situations (transmission is being waited, transmission is being performed, transmission has been ended, etc.) of the documents stored in the memory.  
           [0006]    Conventionally, when the situations of the documents stored in the memory are displayed, a document list on which the plural stored documents are sequentially put from the top to the bottom or from the bottom to the top in the order of memory storage (i.e., the order that these documents were stored in the memory) is displayed.  
           [0007]    Incidentally, in a data communication apparatus such as the facsimile apparatus, plural documents stored in a memory are not necessarily transmitted in the order of storage. Namely, for example, when the document can not be transmitted because a communication partner is busy, this document is entered into a redial standby state, and thus the order of transmitting this document is deferred, whereby the order that the documents are stored in the memory differs from the order that the documents stored in the memory are transmitted. Further, when timer transmission is designated and this document is thus transmitted after the document later stored in the memory is transmitted, the order of storing the documents differs from the order of transmitting the stored documents. Further, when the document later stored in the memory is subjected to batch transmission (i.e., the transmission that the plural documents for an identical destination are all extracted and transmitted at one time) and thus first transmitted, the order of storing the documents differs from the order of transmitting the stored documents.  
           [0008]    In these cases, when the situations of the documents stored in the memory are displayed, conventionally, since the document list on which the documents are sequentially put in the order of memory storage is displayed, the document at the head of the list (i.e., the uppermost document or the lowermost document on the list) might not be the document which is being transmitted.  
           [0009]    Thus, for example, when it is intended to stop the transmission of the document being transmitted, there is a problem that it is difficult to specify this document.  
           [0010]    Especially, since the display panel on the operation unit is small, it might be impossible to display all the listed documents on this panel. In this case, there is a problem that, since it is necessary to scroll the display panel to search the target document, such an operation is complicated.  
           [0011]    Further, when the facsimile apparatus is connected to plural lines, or when the facsimile apparatus is a data communication apparatus which supports plural protocols, there is a problem that it is further difficult to specify the target document.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0012]    An object of the present invention is to provide a data communication apparatus which solved the above conventional problems.  
           [0013]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a data communication apparatus in which data being transmitted can be easily specified from among plural data stored in a memory.  
           [0014]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide a data communication apparatus in which data being transmitted can be easily specified by changing display forms of plural data stored in a memory.  
           [0015]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide a data communication apparatus in which data being transmitted can be easily specified by shifting from among plural data stored in a memory the data being transmitted to the head of a list and displaying this list.  
           [0016]    Still another object of the present invention is to provide a data communication apparatus in which data being transmitted can be easily specified by automatically scrolling a display area to display thereon, from among plural data stored in a memory, the data being transmitted. 
       
    
    
       [0017]    Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the attached drawings.  
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]    [0018]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of a DC (digital copier or digital copying machine)  1  according to the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of documents stored in a memory controller  12  of the DC  1 ;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing a transmission situation screen displayed on a display  16  of the DC  1 ;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an operation to cause the display  16  to display a transmission situation;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a system to which a digital multifunctional machine  1001  according to the second embodiment of the present invention is connected;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of the digital multifunctional machine  1001 ;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of documents stored in a RAM (random-access memory)  2002  of the digital multifunctional machine  1001 ;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a transmission situation screen displayed on a display  2013  of the digital multifunctional machine  1001 ;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a transmission situation screen displayed on the display  2013  of the digital multifunctional machine  1001 ;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a facsimile transmission situation screen displayed on the display  2013 ;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing an operation to cause the display  2013  to display a transmission situation;  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing an operation to cause the display  2013  to display the transmission situation for each protocol; and  
         [0030]    [0030]FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing an operation to cause the display  2013  to display the transmission situation for a protocol of an in-transmission job or a previously set job. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0031]    Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be explained with reference to the attached drawings.  
         [0032]    (First Embodiment)  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a DC  1  according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The DC  1  has three functions, i.e., a copying function, a facsimile function, and a print function.  
         [0034]    The DC  1  contains a CPU (central processing unit)  10 , an image memory  11 , a memory controller  12 , a facsimile control unit  13 , a print control unit  14 , a reading control unit  15 , a display  16 , and a codec  17 .  
         [0035]    The image memory  11  is a memory area which stores various data. In the image memory  11 , plural facsimile transmission documents (i.e., the documents to be transmitted by the facsimile apparatus) such as a document obtained by reading an image on an original with the reading control unit  15 , a document received by the facsimile control unit  13 , and the like can be stored.  
         [0036]    The memory controller  12  receives data from the facsimile control unit  13  and the like, causes the codec  17  to compress the received data, again receives the compressed data from the codec  17 , allocates the area in the image memory  11  to which the compressed data should be stored, and then transfers the compressed data to the image memory  11 . Conversely, the memory controller  12  receives the data from each area in the image memory  11 , transfers the received data to the codec  17  to decompress or expand it, again receives the decompressed data from the codec  17 , and then transfers the received data to the respective control units.  
         [0037]    The facsimile control unit  13  controls the facsimile function, and exchanges the data with the memory controller  12 . Further, the facsimile control unit  13  holds plural telephone lines, and thus can perform plural communications simultaneously by using these lines. When the plural transmission documents for an identical destination exist in the image memory  11 , the facsimile control unit  13  can batch and transmit these documents in one-time communication.  
         [0038]    The print control unit  14  controls a print job, and exchanges the data with the memory controller  12 .  
         [0039]    The reading control unit  15  controls the reading function, and exchanges the data with the memory controller  12 .  
         [0040]    The display  16  is a liquid crystal display unit which displays various information (a facsimile situation, no sheet (paper), an ink empty, etc.) on the basis of the information received from the memory controller  12 . When the facsimile situation is displayed, histories (situations) of the plural transmission documents can be simultaneously displayed on one screen. If the histories of all the transmission documents can not be displayed on one screen, the screen is scrolled by a predetermined operation to display the histories of all the transmission documents. The history of the transmission document includes an acceptance time (a time when the transmission document is stored in the image memory  11 ), a destination name, a facsimile number, a transmission number to specify the transmission document, and a transmission situation. Here, in the transmission situation, when the transmission is started for one transmission document, a message “IN TRANSMISSION” to which shading has been applied is displayed for this document. In case of batch transmission, shading is applied only to the documents which are being transmitted actually, but shading is not applied to the documents which are the batch transmission targets but on standby for transmission, i.e., only the message “IN TRANSMISSION” is displayed for such the documents which are not yet actually batch-transmitted. Further, a message “IN WAIT FOR TRANSMISSION” is displayed for the document which is not yet subjected to the transmission process. Further, since it is set that the document remains in the image memory  11  even after the transmission process was performed, a message “TRANSMISSION END” is displayed for such the document remaining after the transmission. This liquid crystal display unit adopts a touchscreen. Thus, by selecting and touching the document displayed on the touchscreen, it is possible to stop transmitting the selected document, instruct the print control unit  14  to print the selected document, and change the displayed content to the detailed information of the selected document.  
         [0041]    The codec  17  receives the data from the memory controller  12 , compresses and/or decompresses the received data, and then returns the compressed and/or decompressed data to the memory controller  12 .  
         [0042]    Next, the operation according to the present embodiment will be explained.  
         [0043]    Here, it is assumed that the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 1 holds the two lines, transmits documents  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5  and  6  to a destination I by using a line  1 , and transmits a document A to a destination II by using a line  2 . The transmission to the destination I is the batch transmission, and the transmission process is performed to each destination. Here, a state that the transmission process starts processing is called “IN TRANSMISSION”, and a state that the transmission is just being performed (i.e., a state that the document is electrically flowing on the telephone line) is especially called “IN TRANSMISSION EXECUTION”. If it is not noticed, both “IN TRANSMISSION” and “IN TRANSMISSION EXECUTION” are assumed to be “IN TRANSMISSION”.  
         [0044]    Here, it is assumed that the documents  1  and A are being transmitted to the destinations I and II, respectively.  
         [0045]    [0045]FIG. 2 shows an example of the contents of the documents stored in the memory controller  12  according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, it should be noted that the document to which slashes have been added (called a shading document hereinafter) is the document which is being transmitted.  
         [0046]    [0046]FIG. 2 shows a state that the facsimile transmission documents  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6  and A are stored in the image memory  11 .  
         [0047]    In this case, it should be noted that the documents have been input into the image memory  11  in the order of  1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 →A. Before the documents are actually transmitted, when a transmission situation screen is displayed on the display  16 , the documents are sequentially displayed downward in the above input order. Then, the transmission of the document  1  is started through the line  1 , and the storage area is not changed even if the transmission of the document A is started through the line  2 .  
         [0048]    [0048]FIGS. 3A and 3B show the transmission situation screen displayed on the display  16 .  
         [0049]    Namely, FIG. 3A shows the first page of the transmission situation screen, and FIG. 3B shows the second page thereof.  
         [0050]    Here, in the transmission situations (the transmission histories) on the display  16 , the histories of the five documents are displayed on the first page of the screen. If the transmission histories of the documents exceeding five histories are to be displayed, the transmission situation screen is scrolled by a predetermined operation, whereby the histories of the documents incapable of being displayed on the first page are displayed on the next page scrolled (i.e., the second page).  
         [0051]    In the above case, until the transmission is started, the documents are displayed on the transmission situation screen in the order that these documents were stored in the image memory  11 . In a case where the order remains even after the start of transmission and it is intended to stop transmitting the document A to the destination II, there is a possibility that necessity for scrolling the screen comes out in order to search the history of the document A existing after the documents  2  to  6  prestored in the image memory  11 .  
         [0052]    In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, since the documents being transmitted are shifted uppermost and displayed on the transmission situation screen, such the documents are displayed at the head (i.e., the uppermost part) of the first page of the screen, whereby the transmission to the destination II using the line  2  can be easily stopped. On this display, an operator can instruct to stop the transmission by touching a desired document. If it is instructed to stop the transmission of the shading document, such the transmission is ended at the page for which the transmission has been just started, and then the line is disconnected. On the other hand, if it is instructed to stop the transmission of the document other than the shading document, the transmission process is ended before such the transmission is actually started. As previously described, it should be noted that the shading document is the document which is just being transmitted (“IN TRANSMISSION EXECUTION”).  
         [0053]    When the batch transmission is started, the documents to be batched and transmitted (i.e., all the documents being the transmission targets in the current transmission process) are displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION” on the screen, and the documents (the documents  1  and A in this case) being actually transmitted are displayed at the uppermost part. If the transmission of the document  1  ended and the transmission of the document  2  starts, the history of the document  2  is shifted upward. Although it is not shown in the drawings, even if the transmission standby document to the other destination exists between the documents  1  and  2 , the document  2  is shifted to skip over it. Further, if it is instructed to stop the transmission without selecting any specific document, the documents being actually transmitted (i.e., the shading documents) are the targets for which the transmission should be stopped. In this case, if the two documents are being transmitted respectively by using the two lines, an inquiry which transmission of the document should be stopped is displayed. Then, when it is instructed to stop the transmission, the documents other than the already-transmitted documents become retransmission targets.  
         [0054]    Next, an operation to display facsimile transmission histories in the present embodiment will be explained.  
         [0055]    [0055]FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation to cause the display  16  to display the facsimile transmission histories. It should be noted that this flow chart is based on the control by the CPU  10  according to programs stored in the memory controller  12 .  
         [0056]    First, it is detected whether or not same-time transmission including the batch transmission of the plural documents has been started (S 1 ). If it is detected that the same-time transmission including the batch transmission has been started (S 1 ), information of the documents stored and subjected to the batch transmission is read in the order that these documents were stored in the image memory  11  (S 2 ). Then, it is judged whether or not the read information corresponds to the document just being transmitted (i.e., the document being flowing on the telephone line) (S 3 ). If judged that the read information corresponds to the document just being transmitted (S 3 ), then it is further judged whether or not the history of the document just being transmitted is displayed at the first line of the histories of the transmission documents (S 4 ).  
         [0057]    If judged that the history of the document just being transmitted is displayed at the first line of the histories of the transmission documents (S 4 ), the history of the transmission document obtained in the step S 2  is displayed at the second line of the histories of the transmission documents (S 5 ). Conversely, if judged that the history of the document just being transmitted is not displayed at the first line of the histories of the transmission documents (S 4 ), the history of the transmission document obtained in the step S 2  is displayed at the first line of the histories of the transmission documents (S 6 ).  
         [0058]    On the other hand, if judged that the read information does not correspond to the document just being transmitted (S 3 ), the read documents are sequentially displayed at the third and the following lines of the histories of the transmission documents (S 7 ).  
         [0059]    If the stored document not yet displayed on the transmission situation screen exists (S 8 ), the information of the documents stored and subjected to the batch transmission is read in the order that these documents were stored in the image memory  11  (S 2 ).  
         [0060]    On the other hand, if it is detected that the same-time transmission including the batch transmission is not yet started (S 1 ), the histories of the transmission documents are displayed on the transmission situation screen as they are in the order that these documents were stored in the image memory  11  (S 9 ).  
         [0061]    It should be noted that the present embodiment is applicable to an image communication apparatus other than the facsimile apparatus (i.e., a personal computer having an image communication function, or the like).  
         [0062]    Further, it should be noted that the present embodiment can be grasped as a computer-readable storage medium. Namely, the present embodiment is directed to an example of the computer-readable storage medium which stores a program to cause a computer to perform a transmission procedure of transmitting the plural documents stored in the memory, a situation display procedure of simultaneously displaying the histories representing the situations of the plural transmission documents, and a display control procedure of displaying, when the histories of the transmission documents stored in the memory are displayed, the documents just being transmitted uppermost.  
         [0063]    In this case, the situation display procedure is the procedure of sequentially displaying the documents not being transmitted, in the order of storage. Further, the situation display procedure is the procedure of displaying the histories incapable of being displayed at one time, by scrolling the screen. Further, the transmission procedure is the procedure of simultaneously transmitting the plural documents through the plural lines, and the display control procedure is the procedure of displaying uppermost the histories of the plural transmission documents just being transmitted while enabling discrimination of the used lines respectively. Further, the transmission procedure is the procedure capable of batching and transmitting the plural different documents, and the situation display procedure is the procedure of displaying the respective documents discriminably.  
         [0064]    Incidentally, an FD (floppy disk), a CD (compact disk), a DVD (digital versatile disk), an HD (hard disk), a semiconductor memory or the like is applicable as the storage medium.  
         [0065]    In the present embodiment, the document just being transmitted is shifted uppermost and displayed. Conversely, such the document may be shifted lowermost and displayed.  
         [0066]    Further, the order of display is shifted in the present embodiment. However, it is possible to set the order of display to be the same as the order of storage, and automatically perform scroll of the screen according to the start of document transmission so as to display the document just being transmitted within the display area of the display  16 . In this case, if the used apparatus holds the two lines as in the present embodiment, it is necessary to add an operation to designate that the document being transmitted by using which line should be displayed.  
         [0067]    (Second Embodiment)  
         [0068]    In the above first embodiment, the facsimile apparatus was explained by way of example. However, the present invention is applicable to a data communication apparatus which supports plural protocols.  
         [0069]    Hereinafter, such the data communication apparatus will be explained by way of example.  
         [0070]    [0070]FIG. 5 shows a system to which the data communication apparatus according to the second embodiment is connected.  
         [0071]    A digital multifunctional machine  1001  is a data communication apparatus which can read an original and transmit data according to various protocols. A printer  1002  is a printing apparatus which can print an image on the basis of print data transmitted from the digital multifunctional machine  1001 . A facsimile  1003  is a facsimile apparatus which can receive facsimile data transmitted from the digital multifunctional machine  1001 . A database/mail server  1004  is a computer which exchanges database data and E-mail (electronic-mail) data transmitted from the digital multifunctional machine  1001 . A client computer  1005  is a computer which captures various data from the connected database/mail server  1004 , stores the captured data, and displays images on the basis of the stored data. A network  1006  is a network to which plural apparatuses such as the digital multifunctional machine  1001 , the printer  1002 , the facsimile  1003 , the database/mail server  1004 , the client computer  1005  and the like are connected. The network  1006  exchanges the data with the connected apparatuses according to predetermined protocols. A telephone line  1007  is connected to an external public network through a modem disposed in the digital multifunctional machine  1001 .  
         [0072]    [0072]FIG. 6 is a system block diagram showing the schematic structure of the digital multifunctional machine shown in FIG. 5.  
         [0073]    In FIG. 6, a controller unit  2000  is connected to a scanner  2070  acting as an image input device and a printer  2095  acting as an image output device, and equal connected to a LAN (local area network)  2011  (i.e., the network  1006  in FIG. 5) and a WAN (wide area network)  2051  (i.e., the telephone line  1007  in FIG. 5). Thus, the controller unit  2000  inputs and outputs image information and device information.  
         [0074]    A CPU  2001  is a controller which controls the entire system, a RAM  2002  is a system working memory which is used when the CPU  2001  operates. Also, the RAM  2002  temporarily stores the image data. A ROM (read-only memory)  2003  is a boot ROM which stores a boot program for the system. An HDD (hard disk driver)  2004  stores system software and the image data.  
         [0075]    An operation unit I/F (interface)  2006  is an interface unit for an operation unit (UI (user interface))  2012 . The operation I/F  2006  outputs the image data to be displayed on a display  2013 , to the operation unit  2012 , and further transfers to the CPU  2001  information input by a system user from the operation unit  2012 . The display  2013  is a liquid crystal display unit of touchscreen form which displays various information (a transmission situation, no sheet, an ink empty, etc.) on the basis of information received from the controller unit  2000 . When the transmission situation is displayed, histories (situations) of plural transmission documents can be simultaneously displayed on one screen. If the histories of all the transmission documents can not be displayed on one screen, the screen is scrolled by a predetermined operation to display the histories of all the transmission documents. The history of the transmission document includes an acceptance time (a time when the transmission document is stored in the HDD  2004 ), a destination name, a transmission number to specify the transmission document, and a transmission situation. Here, in the transmission situation, when the transmission is started for one transmission document, a message “IN TRANSMISSION” to which shading has been applied is displayed for this document. In case of batch transmission, shading is applied only to the documents which are being transmitted actually, but shading is not applied to the documents which are the batch transmission targets but on standby for transmission, i.e., only the message “IN TRANSMISSION” is displayed for such the documents which are not yet actually batch-transmitted. Such the display is substantially the same as that in the above first embodiment except for the point that plural kinds of protocols (plural information respectively depending on these kinds of protocols) are provided in the present embodiment.  
         [0076]    A network I/F  2010  which is connected to the LAN  2011  inputs and outputs various information through the LAN  2011 . A modem  2050  which is connected to the WAN  2051  inputs and outputs various information through the WAN  2051 . Further, the modem  2050  holds plural lines, and thus can perform plural communications simultaneously by using these lines. When plural transmission documents for an identical destination exist in the HDD  2004 , the modem  2050  can batch and transmit these documents in one-time communication.  
         [0077]    The above devices are appropriately arranged on a system bus  2007 .  
         [0078]    An image bus I/F  2005  is a bus bridge by which the system bus  2007  and an image bus  2008  for transferring image data at high speed are connected to each other so as to convert data structure. The image bus  2008  is made by a PCI (peripheral component interface) bus or an IEEE1394 (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers standard 1394) bus. On the image bus  2008 , following devices are arranged.  
         [0079]    An RIP (raster image processor)  2060  expands a PDL (page description language) code into an bit map image. A device I/F  2020  connects the scanner  2070  and the printer  2095  being the image input and output devices to the controller unit  2000 , and performs synchronous/asynchronous conversion to the image data. A scanner image processing unit  2080  corrects, processes and edits the input image data. A printer image processing unit  2090  performs correction, resolution conversion and the like to print output image data in accordance with a printer format. An image rotation unit  2030  rotates the image data. An image compression unit  2040  performs compression/decompression process to the image data. Concretely, the image compression unit  2040  performs image compression to multivalue image data based on JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), and performs image compression to binary image data based on JBIG (Joint Bi-level Image experts Group), MMR (Modified Modified READ (relative element address) coding) or MH (Modified Huffman coding).  
         [0080]    In the present embodiment, the digital multifunctional machine can perform, through the LAN  2011  and/or the WAN  2051 , at least facsimile transmission, E-mail transmission (including IFAX (Internet facsimile) transmission), and ftp (file transfer protocol) transmission of an image file or the like. Here, it should be noted that, in the IFAX transmission, an E-mail which has an image read by the scanner  2070  as an attachment file is transmitted.  
         [0081]    [0081]FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of the documents stored in the RAM  2002  according to the present embodiment.  
         [0082]    In the present embodiment, the documents are stored in the RAM  2002  in the order of input, i.e., the order of documents  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7  and  8 .  
         [0083]    As the contents of the document  1 , an acceptance time (a time of storage) “10:00”, a destination “03 1111 1111”, and a facsimile line  1  are set.  
         [0084]    As the contents of the document  2 , similarly, an acceptance time (a time of storage) “10:05”, the destination “03 1111 1111”, and the facsimile line  1  are set.  
         [0085]    As the contents of the document  3 , similarly, an acceptance time (a time of storage) “10:10”, the destination “03 1111 1111”, and the facsimile line  1  are set.  
         [0086]    As the contents of the document  4 , similarly, an acceptance time (a time of storage) “10:15”, the destination “03 1111 1111”, and the facsimile line  1  are set.  
         [0087]    As the contents of the document  5 , similarly, an acceptance time (a time of storage) “10:20”, the destination “03 1111 1111”, and the facsimile line  1  are set.  
         [0088]    As the contents of the document  6 , similarly, an acceptance time (a time of storage) “10:25”, a destination “03 2222 2222”, and the facsimile line  2  are set.  
         [0089]    As the contents of the document  7 , similarly, an acceptance time (a time of storage) “10:30”, a destination “03 3333 3333”, and the facsimile line  1  are set.  
         [0090]    As the contents of the document  8 , similarly, an acceptance time (a time of storage) “10:30”, the destination “test@canon.co.jp”, and mail (IFAX) transmission are set.  
         [0091]    FIGS.  8  to  10  are diagrams showing the transmission situation screens displayed on the display  2013  according to the present embodiment.  
         [0092]    [0092]FIG. 8 shows a first page of the transmission situation screen displayed on the display  2013 , and FIG. 9 shows a second page of the transmission situation screen.  
         [0093]    In the screen, “FAX”, “IFAX”, “ftp” and “ALL” buttons can be handled by an operator. By depressing each of the “FAX”, “IFAX” and “ftp” buttons, the transmission situation of the corresponding transmission protocol can be displayed. Further, by depressing the “ALL” button, all transmission jobs can be displayed.  
         [0094]    Here, in the transmission situations (the transmission histories) displayed on the display  2013 , the histories of the five documents are displayed on the first page of the screen. If the transmission histories of the documents exceeding five histories are to be displayed, the transmission situation screen is scrolled by a predetermined operation, whereby the histories of the documents incapable of being displayed on the first page are displayed on the next page scrolled (i.e., the second page).  
         [0095]    In the above case, until the transmission is started, the documents are displayed on the transmission situation screen in the order that these documents were stored in the RAM  2002  (i.e., the order of the documents  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7  and  8 ). In a case where the order remains even after the start of transmission and it is intended to stop transmitting the document  6  to a destination II, there is a possibility that necessity for scrolling the screen comes out in order to search the history of the document  6  existing after the documents  1  to  5  prestored in the RAM  2002 .  
         [0096]    In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, since the documents (i.e., the documents  1 ,  6  and  8 ) just being transmitted are shifted uppermost and displayed on the transmission situation screen, even the transmission to the destinations II and III can be easily stopped.  
         [0097]    When the batch transmission is started, the documents to be batched and transmitted (i.e., the documents  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4  and  5 ) are all displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION” on the screen. In this case, if it is instructed to stop the transmission without selecting any specific document, the target for which the transmission can be stopped is only the document being actually transmitted (i.e., the document  1 ), whereby this document is displayed uppermost. After the transmission of the document  1  ended, since the transmission of the document  2  starts, the history of this document  2  is shifted upward. Although it is not shown in the drawings, even if the transmission standby document (e.g., a timer transmission document or the like) to the other destination exists between the documents  1  and  2 , the document  2  is shifted to skip over it. Further, if it is instructed to stop the transmission while the transmission is being performed, the document being actually transmitted (i.e., the shading documents) is the target for which the transmission should be stopped. The process to stop the transmission in the present embodiment is substantially the same as that already explained in the first embodiment.  
         [0098]    [0098]FIG. 10 shows the transmission situation screen which is displayed when the “FAX” button is depressed on the screen shown in FIG. 8.  
         [0099]    Next, a flow of an operation to display the transmission histories in the present embodiment will be explained. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing the operation to display the transmission histories.  
         [0100]    First, in a step S 11 , transmission situation information which represents that, e.g., the corresponding documents are being transmitted in the order of storage (the first document is the document  1 ), and/or the transmission is on standby, and information which represents whether or not the document (the transmission stop target document) for which the transmission should be stopped (i.e., the documents  1 ,  6  and  8  in the present embodiment) are obtained from the RAM  2002  shown in FIG. 7.  
         [0101]    Next, in a step S 12 , it is judged whether or not the corresponding document is the target to be transmitted and to be displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION” (including the case where the target is displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION” in the batch transmission). If YES in the step S 12 , the flow advances to a step S 13 . Conversely, if NO in the step S 12  (i.e., if the target is displayed with the message “IN WAIT FOR TRANSMISSION” (including waiting because of timer transmission) other than the message “IN TRANSMISSION”), the flow advances to a step S 16 .  
         [0102]    Next, if it is judged in the step S 13  that the corresponding document is the document just being transmitted (i.e., the documents  1 ,  6  and  8  in the present embodiment), the flow advances to a step S 14 . Conversely, if it is judged in the step S 13  that the corresponding document is not the document just being transmitted (e.g., the document which is other than the document just being transmitted in the batch transmission and is merely displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION”), the flow advances to a step S 15 .  
         [0103]    In the step S 14 , the history of the corresponding transmission document is displayed at the tail end of the histories of the documents being displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION” and just being transmitted.  
         [0104]    Similarly, in the step S 15 , the history of the corresponding transmission document is displayed at the tail end of the histories of the documents being displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION”.  
         [0105]    Similarly, in the step S 16 , the history of the corresponding transmission document is displayed at the tail end of the histories of the documents.  
         [0106]    Next, in a step S 17 , it is judged whether or not there is the stored document not yet displayed. If YES in the step S 17 , the flow returns to the step S 11 . Conversely, if NO in the step S 17 , i.e., if all the stored documents are displayed, the transmission document history display sequence ends.  
         [0107]    [0107]FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing an operation to cause the display  2013  to display the transmission histories of the protocols selected by the user, as shown in FIG. 10.  
         [0108]    First, in a step S 20 , the selection key information in a case where the transmission protocol selection button such as the “FAX”, “IFAX” or “ftp” button in FIGS. 8 and 9 is depressed by the user is obtained. Here, if it is judged that the “ALL” button is depressed, it means that all the transmission jobs are displayed.  
         [0109]    Next, in a step S 21 , transmission situation information which represents that, e.g., the corresponding documents are being transmitted in the order of storage (the first document is the document  1 ), and/or the transmission is on standby, information which represents whether or not the document (the transmission stop target document) for which the transmission should be stopped (i.e., the documents  1 ,  6  and  8  in the present embodiment), and transmission protocol information are obtained from the RAM  2002  shown in FIG. 7.  
         [0110]    Next, in a step S 22 , it is judged whether or not the transmission protocol of the corresponding document coincides with the transmission protocol information selected in the step S 20 . Then, the flow advances to a step S 23  if judged that the transmission protocol of the corresponding document coincides with the transmission protocol information, while the flow advances to a step S 28  if judged that the transmission protocol of the corresponding document does not coincide with the transmission protocol information. Further, if the “ALL” button is selected in the step S 20 , the flow skips to the step S 23 .  
         [0111]    Next, in the step S 23 , it is judged whether or not the corresponding document is now the target to be transmitted and to be displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION” (including the case where the target is displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION” in the batch transmission). If YES in the step S 23 , the flow advances to a step S 24 . Conversely, if NO in the step S 12  (i.e., if the target is displayed with the message “IN WAIT FOR TRANSMISSION” (including waiting because of timer transmission) other than the message “IN TRANSMISSION”), the flow advances to a step S 27 .  
         [0112]    Next, if it is judged in the step S 24  that the corresponding document is the document just being transmitted (i.e., the documents  1 ,  6  and  8  in the present embodiment), the flow advances to a step S 25 . Conversely, if it is judged in the step S 24  that the corresponding document is not the document just being transmitted (e.g., the document which is other than the document just being transmitted in the batch transmission and is merely displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION”), the flow advances to a step S 26 .  
         [0113]    Next, in the step S 25 , the history of the corresponding transmission document is displayed at the tail end of the histories of the documents being displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION” and just being transmitted.  
         [0114]    Similarly, in the step S 26 , the history of the corresponding transmission document is displayed at the tail end of the histories of the documents being displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION”.  
         [0115]    Similarly, in the step S 27 , the history of the corresponding transmission document is displayed at the tail end of the histories of the documents.  
         [0116]    Next, in the step S 28 , it is judged whether or not there is the stored document not yet displayed. If YES in the step S 28 , the flow returns to the step S 21 . Conversely, if NO in the step S 28 , i.e., if all the stored documents are displayed, the transmission document history display sequence ends.  
         [0117]    [0117]FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing an operation of the present embodiment in a case where the user causes the display  2013  to display (or select) the transmission situation screen as shown in FIG. 8 to know the transmission situation.  
         [0118]    First, in a step S 30 , it is judged whether or not the job being in transmission exists. If judged that the job being in transmission exists, the flow advances to a step S 31 , while if judged that the job being in transmission does not exist, the flow advances to a step S 32 .  
         [0119]    Next, in the step S 31 , protocol information of the job being in transmission is obtained.  
         [0120]    In the step S 32 , since the job being in transmission does not exist, protocol information which can be set and registered by the user and has been saved in a priority display protocol information area in the RAM  2002  is obtained. Here, if there is no registration of the priority display, information representing that all the protocols should be displayed is obtained.  
         [0121]    Next, in a step S 33 , transmission situation information which represents that, e.g., the corresponding documents are being transmitted in the order of storage (the first document is the document  1 ), and/or the transmission is on standby, information which represents whether or not the document (the transmission stop target document) for which the transmission should be stopped (i.e., the documents  1 ,  6  and  8  in the present embodiment), and transmission protocol information are obtained from the RAM  2002  shown in FIG. 7.  
         [0122]    Next, in a step S 34 , it is judged whether or not the transmission protocol of the corresponding document coincides with the transmission protocol information selected in the steps S 31  and S 32 . Then, the flow advances to a step S 35  if judged that the transmission protocol of the corresponding document coincides with the transmission protocol information, while the flow advances to a step S 40  if judged that the transmission protocol of the corresponding document does not coincide with the transmission protocol information.  
         [0123]    Next, in the step S 35 , it is judged whether or not the corresponding document is now the target to be transmitted and to be displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION” (including the case where the target is displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION” in the batch transmission). If YES in the step S 35 , the flow advances to a step S 36 . Conversely, if NO in the step S 35  (i.e., if the target is displayed with the message “IN WAIT FOR TRANSMISSION” (including waiting because of timer transmission) other than the message “IN TRANSMISSION”), the flow advances to a step S 39 .  
         [0124]    Next, if it is judged in the step S 36  that the corresponding document is the document just being transmitted (i.e., the documents  1 ,  6  and  8  in the present embodiment), the flow advances to a step S 37 . Conversely, if it is judged in the step S 36  that the corresponding document is not the document just being transmitted (e.g., the document which is other than the document just being transmitted in the batch transmission and is merely displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION”), the flow advances to a step S 38 .  
         [0125]    Next, in the step S 37 , the history of the corresponding transmission document is displayed at the tail end of the histories of the documents being displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION” and just being transmitted.  
         [0126]    Similarly, in the step S 38 , the history of the corresponding transmission document is displayed at the tail end of the histories of the documents being displayed with the message “IN TRANSMISSION”.  
         [0127]    Similarly, in the step S 39 , the history of the corresponding transmission document is displayed at the tail end of the histories of the documents.  
         [0128]    Next, in the step S 40 , it is judged whether or not there is the stored document not yet displayed. If YES in the step S 40 , the flow returns to the step S 33 . Conversely, if NO in the step S 40 , i.e., if all the stored documents are displayed, the transmission document history display sequence ends.  
         [0129]    It should be noted that the flow charts shown in FIGS.  11  to  13  are based on the control which is performed by the CPU  2001  according to the program loaded from the HDD  2004  to the RAM  2002 .  
         [0130]    As described above, according to the second embodiment, in the apparatus which can transmit the documents by the plural protocols, it is possible to display the transmission situations for each desired protocol, all the batched transmission documents, the document of the in-transmission protocol, or the document of the preset protocol. Thus, it is possible to easily specify the document just being transmitted.  
         [0131]    In the present embodiment, the document just being transmitted is shifted uppermost and displayed. Conversely, such the document may be shifted lowermost and displayed. Further, the screen may be automatically scrolled to display the document just being transmitted within the display area.  
         [0132]    Further, in the present embodiment, “FAX”, “IFAX” and “ftp” are described as the transmission protocols by way of example. However, as well as these protocols, other protocols can be appropriately adopted.  
         [0133]    Further, in the first and second embodiments, it is needless to say that, after the transmission situations were displayed according to the above conditions, it is possible for the operator to appropriately change the display order according to a predetermined condition.  
         [0134]    Further, in the first and second embodiments, only the document just being transmitted is shifted. However, it is possible to shift and display all the documents being the transmission targets in the transmission process.  
         [0135]    The present invention is applicable to a system which is composed of plural equipments (e.g., a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, a communication unit, etc.) or to an apparatus which includes a single equipment (e.g., a communication device such as a facsimile or the like).  
         [0136]    Further, the present invention includes a case where program codes of software to realize the functions of the above embodiments are supplied to a computer in an apparatus or a system connected to various devices to operate them to achieve the functions of the above embodiments, and the computer (CPU or MPU) in the system or the apparatus reads and executes the supplied program codes and thus operates the various devices.  
         [0137]    In this case, the program codes themselves of software achieve the functions of the above embodiments, whereby the program codes themselves and a means for supplying the program codes to the computer, e.g., a storage medium storing these program codes, constitute the present invention.  
         [0138]    As the storage medium storing the program codes, e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, an optical disk, a magnetooptical disk, a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.  
         [0139]    Further, it is needless to say that the program codes are included in the embodiment of the present invention not only in the case where the functions of the above embodiments are achieved by executing the program codes with the computer, but also in a case where the program codes cooperate with an OS (operating system) or other application software operating in the computer to achieve the functions of the above embodiments.  
         [0140]    Further, it is needless to say that the present invention further includes a case where the supplied program codes are once stored in a memory provided in a function expansion board of the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, and then a CPU or the like provided in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit executes all or a part of actual processes according to instructions of the supplied program codes, whereby the functions of the above embodiments are achieved.  
         [0141]    Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to them but encompasses any and all modifications or combinations within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.