Patent Publication Number: US-6985242-B1

Title: Image communication apparatus, server apparatus, and capability exchanging method

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to an image communication apparatus capable of transmitting data via the Internet, and more specifically to an image communication apparatus for transmitting an image after obtaining capability of a destination terminal on the Internet, a server apparatus for providing capability of the destination terminal, and a capability exchanging method. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   In conventional facsimile apparatuses, a G3 facsimile apparatus, which carries out data communications using an analog network, and a G4 facsimile apparatus, which carries out data communications using a digital network such as ISDN, etc., are generally used. Such facsimile apparatuses using the analog network and the digital network (hereinafter referred to as “public switched telephone network (PSTN)” in a word) are hereinafter called G3/G4 FAX. On the other hand, an Internet facsimile apparatus (hereinafter referred to as “IFAX”), that receives and transmits data over an Internet protocol, has been developed in recent years. Particularly, standardization of an e-mail type IFAX, which receives and transmits image data using an e-mail transfer protocol, has been developed in IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) and ITU (International Telecommunication Union). 
   The following will explain the case using SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol) and POP (Post Office Protocol)  3  as a mail transfer protocol in transmitting data by an e-mail type IFAX. 
   IFAX transmits a mail to a SMTP server. The SMTP server transfers the mail to a POP 3  server to which a receiver belongs. The POP 3  server stores the mail in a mail box of a destination. 
   Since data communications by IFAX is non-synchronously carried out, capability exchange cannot be executed between IFAX and a communication terminal on the receiver side. For this reason, IFAX is intended to surely carry out communications by executing communications using a minimum function of a transmitter (sender) and the destination (receiver). As described in a document RFC2305 “A Simple Mode of Facsimile Using Internet mail” (K. Toyoda et. al; March 1998) issued by IETF, the minimum function, which IFAX should possess, is defined as a “simple mode”. 
   More specifically, the communication protocol is SMTP, and corresponds to MIME and a minimum set of a TIFF file. 
   The minimum set is defined in the above RFC2305. In the TIFF file, there are five sets such as S, F, J, L, and M, depending on a facsimile mode and a profile supporting the TIF file. Among these sets, the lowest one is the profile S, that is, the minimum set. 
   More specifically, the following points can be defined. 
   The minimum set supports a monochrome image.
         A compression format is a MH (Modified Huffman coding);   A CPU is an Intel system;   A width of paper is 1728 (corresponding to A4 size);   Resolution is 100 dpi or 200 dpi; and   A data list is LSB.       

   However, in communications using the simple mode, only the minimum function can be used. For this reason, even if both a transmitter terminal and a destination terminal have the function more than the simple mode, communications is carried out using the minimum function. 
   To solve such a problem, there is considered a communication system in which capability information of a terminal to be used as a destination terminal is registered in a server in advance such that the transmitter terminals can obtain capability information of the destination terminals from the server. For example, in the Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 10-334007 (corresponding to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/084,938 filed on May 28, 1998), such a communication system is disclosed. According to IFAX described in the above publication, since capability information of the destination terminals can be obtained before transmission is started, communications suitable for the capability of the destination terminals can be carried out. 
   However, in the above publication, a system for registering capability of a self-apparatus to a server is disclosed, a way for registering capability of a communication apparatus other than the self-apparatus is not disclosed therein. In conventional, in order to register capability information of desired destination terminal to a server, the user must obtain capability information of the destination terminal by some method and register it to the server by the user. For this reason, this forces the user to perform extremely complicated operations. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   An object of the present invention is to provide an image communication apparatus in which capability information of a destination terminal can be obtained in a terminal on a transmitter side so as to be automatically registered to a server and operation efficiency of a server registration of capability information can be improved. 
   Also, an object of the present invention is to provide a server apparatus, which receives registration of capability information of a destination terminal from the image communication apparatus. 
   Also, an object of the present invention is to provide a capability registration method in which capability information of a destination terminal can be obtained in a terminal on a transmitter side so as to be automatically registered to a server and operation efficiency of a server registration of capability information can be improved. 
   When the image communication apparatus of the present invention requests capability information of the destination terminal of a first server and no capability information of the destination terminal is registered in the first server, the image communication apparatus of the present invention requests capability information of a second server having capability information of a network terminal registered in advance or a server group directly or via the first server, and registers obtained capability information non-registered in one server to one server. 
   According to the present invention, since a function of obtaining capability information of a destination and a function of registering obtained capability information to a server are provided in the image communication apparatus, capability information of a destination terminal can be obtained and registered to a server automatically in a terminal on a transmitter side, and registering operations by a user can be reduced. 
   The above object can be achieved by an image communication apparatus having capability obtaining means for making inquiry to the other server apparatus so as to obtain capability information in accordance with the other server when inquiry about capability which a destination possesses is made to one server apparatus and the one server apparatus has no capability information of the destination; and capability registering means for registering capability information obtained from the other server apparatus to the one server apparatus. 
   The above object can be achieved by a server apparatus having a capability information storing section for storing at least one of a mail address of a communication apparatus and a telephone number thereof in association with capability; a capability information providing section for providing capability information in accordance with inquiry from the image communication apparatus; receiving means for receiving capability information of the other communication apparatus from the communication apparatus; and registering means for registering received capability information to the capability information storing section. 
   The above object can be achieved by a server apparatus having a capability information storing section for storing at least one of a mail address of a communication apparatus and a telephone number thereof in association with capability; a capability information providing section for providing capability information in accordance with inquiry from the image communication apparatus; capability obtaining means for making inquiry to the other server apparatus so as to obtain desired capability information when there is no capability information subjected to the inquiry in the capability information storing section; and registering means for registering capability information obtained by the capability obtaining means to the capability information storing section. 
   The above object can be achieved by a method for registering capability of an image communication apparatus to a server apparatus, having making inquiry about capability which a destination possesses to one server apparatus; obtaining capability information by making inquiry to the other server apparatus when the one server apparatus has no capability information of the destination stored; an registering the obtained capability information to the one server apparatus. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The above and other objects and features of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter from a consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein one example is illustrated by way of example, in which; 
       FIG. 1  is a system structural view of a communication system according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a hardware configuration view of IFAX according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 3  is a functional block view in which a part of functions of IFAX according to the first embodiment of the present invention is extracted; 
       FIG. 4  is a structural view of a destination information table according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 5  is a structural view of a capability exchange table according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 6  is a structural view of a zone information table according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 7  is a sequence view for a capability exchange according to the first embodiment; 
       FIG. 8  is a view showing the structure of a domain name management in DNS; 
       FIGS. 9 and 10  are flowcharts for obtaining capability information according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 11  is a flowchart for registering capability information according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 12  is a flowchart showing operations for inquiry about capability in a server according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 13  is a flowchart showing operations for a capability registration in the server according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 14  is a flowchart showing operations in a DNS server according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 15  is a flowchart showing operations for which IFAX selects a server to which inquiry should be made in a communication system according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 16  is a flowchart showing operations for which IFAX registers capability information in a communication system according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 17  is a sequence view for a capability exchange in a communication system according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 18  is a functional block view in which a part of functions of IFAX according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention is extracted; 
       FIG. 19  is a structural view of a destination information table according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 20  is a structural view of a capability exchange table according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention; 
       FIG. 21  is a flowchart showing the first half of operation for obtaining capability information according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention; and 
       FIG. 22  is a flowchart showing operations for registering capability information according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE 
   PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Embodiments of the present invention will now be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
   First Embodiment 
     FIG. 1  shows a network structure of a communication system according to a first embodiment. In this figure, there is shown a state in which a first LAN  10 A and a second LAN  10 B are communicably connected to each other via the Internet  1 . 
   A plurality of network terminals including an IFAX  11 A and a personal computer  12 A is connected onto the first LAN  10 A. The network terminal is a communication apparatus that conducts communications in accordance with a communication protocol communicable on the Internet  1 . 
   Moreover, a server  13 A, a domain name system (hereinafter referred to as “DNS”) server  14 A, and a mail server  15 A are arranged onto the first LAN  10 A. The server  13 A provides capability information of a destination terminal to the IFAX  11 A. The DNS server  14 A is a name server, which manages a domain name of IFAX  11 A, and capability information of the network terminals existing in a zone (first LAN  10 A in this embodiment) is registered therein. The mail server  15 A has a mail box of network terminals existing in the first LAN  10 A on one hand, and a function of transferring an e-mail transmitted from these network terminals to the mail server having a mail box of a destination terminal on the other hand. 
   An IFAX  11 B, a terminal  12 B, a DNS server  14 B, a mail server  15 B, etc., are connected onto the second LAN  10 B. The DNS server  14 B is a name server, which manages a domain name of IFAX  11 B, and capability information of the network terminals existing in a zone (second LAN  10 B in this embodiment) is registered therein. The mail server  15 B has a mail box of network terminals existing in the first LAN  10 B on one hand, and transfers an e-mail transmitted from these network terminals to the mail server having a mail box of a destination terminal on the other hand. 
   A high DNS server  16 , a WWW server  17 , etc., are arranged on the Internet 1 . The high DNS server  16  is a name server that manages a domain name of a high position of a hierarchical structure, (i.e., tree structure) in which domain names are hierarchically arranged like a tree. A domain name of a low hierarchy that DNS servers  14 A,  14 B manage is provided under the domain name of the high hierarchy that the high DNS server  16  manages. The WWW server  17  registers a transmitting image in a case described later. The IFAX  11 A and the IFAX  11 B also can communicate with each other via a telephone network  18 , as a normal facsimile. 
     FIG. 2  shows a hardware configuration of IFAX  11 A. A CPU  21  executes a program, and controls the entire apparatus. A ROM  22  stores the program executed by the CPU  21 . A RAM  23  is a main memory, which executes the program and temporarily stores various kinds of data such as an e-mail, an image file, etc. A scanner  24  scans an original, and obtains image information. A printer  25  prints out received image information. A FAX section  26  receives and transmits data by facsimile communications, and performs modulation/demodulation processing when data is received and transmitted on a telephone network (PSTN/ISDN)  27 . A network control section  28  is an interface that executes procedures necessary for receiving and transmitting the e-mail over the Internet  1 . A panel section  29  has a plurality of One-touch dialing keys and a plurality of touch panels, and receives operations of a designation of a destination terminal, an instruction of a transmission start, etc., which are done by an operator. A data processing circuit  20  comprises a plurality of processing blocks such as a compression/decompression section, a scaling section, a resolution converting section, an encryption processing section, and a color/monochrome section, etc. An operation of each processing block is controlled by the CPU  21 . 
   In  FIG. 3 , there is shown a functional block in which a specific function, which is realized by executing the program, is extracted. In IFAX  11 A, an image signal of an image scanned by the scanner  24  is input to the data processing circuit  20 . A capability exchange section  31  has a function of obtaining capability information of a destination terminal by use of a capability exchange operation to be described later. In the respective processing blocks provided in the data processing section  20 , CPU  21  control their operation sequence in accordance with the capability of the destination terminal. For example, the compression/decompression section compresses the image signal in a compression format with which the destination terminal can deal. When IFAX  11 A has a color function but must send a monochromatic image since the destination terminal has no color function, the color/monochrome section of IFAX  11 A can convert a color image to a monochromatic image. 
   An e-mail generation section  32  generates an e-mail including image data output from the data processing section  20 . The e-mail generation section  32  converts image data to a TIFF file. The TIFF file can store a plurality of compressed data corresponding to a plurality of pages with one file. A destination address of the e-mail according to an input from the panel section  29  is sent to the e-mail generation section  32 . Next, an e-mail including one or a plurality of TIFF files as an appended file is generated. In other words, the TIFF file is text-coded, and put into a data section of a multi part mail in accordance with, for example, MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions). Thereafter, the e-mail generated by the e-mail generation section  32  is transmitted to a mail server via the network control section  28  by a mail transmitting section  33 . 
   While, a mail receiving section  34  receives an e-mail from the mail server  15 A. The received e-mail is input to an e-mail analyzing section  35 . The e-mail analyzing section  35  binary-converts an appended file portion of the received e-mail, which has been text-coded. The appended file portion binary-converted is decompressed from the TIFF file to an image signal by unit of page. 
   The data processing circuit  20  processes the image signal input from the e-mail analyzing section  35 . For example, if the image signal is one that is compressed, the compression/decompression section decompresses the image data in a decompression format corresponding to a compression format, and the encryption processing section decodes encrypted data so as to be decompressed. The decompressed image signal is output to the printer  25 . It should be noted that compressed image data is output to the FAX section  26  when an instruction about transfer to the other facsimile apparatus is included in the received e-mail. 
   Destination terminal information is pre-registered in a destination information table  36 .  FIG. 4  shows a specific example of destination terminal information registered in the destination information table  36 . Destination terminal information includes a number of an One-touch dialing key allocated to each destination terminal, a telephone number, amail address, etc. 
   A capability registration section  37  has a function of registering capability information of the destination terminal newly obtained to the server  13 A. An instruction of registration and capability information are input to the capability registration section  37  from the capability exchange section  31 . The capability registration section  37  gains access to the server  13 A via the network control section  28 . 
   The server  13 A has a function of notifying the capability exchange section  31  of capability information about the destination terminal in response to inquiry from the capability exchange section  31 . The server  13 A stores capability information about the destination terminals in a capability exchange table  50 . Also, the server  13 A registers capability information whose registration is requested from the capability registration section  37  into a capability exchange table  50 . 
     FIG. 5  shows a configuration example of the capability exchange table  50 . In the capability exchange table  50 , one or a plurality of names of the kind of destination terminal is registered to be associated with the mail address of the destination terminal. Capability of the destination terminal is determined in accordance with the kind of destination terminal. In the capability exchange table  50 , a capability table is prepared for each kind of destination terminal. In the capability table, there are described capability items such as resolution, a paper size, a compression format, an encryption format, color, and the other, and a capability content corresponding to each capability item. 
   In this way, by managing the capability of the destination terminal by the name of kind of apparatus, a data capacity of the capability exchange table  50  can be reduced as compared with a case in which capability information is registered for each destination terminal. The destination terminal of the same kind of terminal is regarded as the terminal that has substantially the same capability. Therefore, if the capability of the destination terminal is managed by the name of the kind of apparatus, overlaps of data can be avoided, and data can be managed with efficiency. 
   The DNS server  14 A has a function of managing a domain name, and a function of managing the capability of a network terminal. A zone information table for realizing the above two functions is stored in an internal memory  60 A of the DNS server  14 A. The structure of the zone information table is shown in  FIG. 6 . The zone information table comprises a plurality of records including a MX (Mail Exchange) record, an A (address) record, and a FX (Fax Exchange) record, which is an expansion record. A delivery destination of a mail to an original (domain name: abc.co.jp) is described in the MX record. The delivery destination of the mail to the domain name of abc.co.jp is mail-gate@abc.co.jp. In the A record, a host name, and an IP address corresponding thereto are described. The host name registered in the zone information table includes a mail server (mail-gate) of the zone, and IFAX (ifax 1 , ifax 2 ). In the FX record expanded this time, capability information of IFAX is described. Capability information includes a name of the kind of IFAX, a paper size, color/monochrome, a compression format, an encryption format, resolution, and other information. DNS comprises numerous DNS servers distributed on the Internet. The DNS servers are arranged along the tree structure of the domain name, and the DNS severs to which authority of managing the domain name is given for each hierarchy of the sub-domain are present. The range of the domain name managed by one DNS server is called zone. 
   According to this embodiment, the capability of the network terminal (IFAX  11 A or  11 B) existing in the zone where the DNS server ( 14 A or  14 B) manages the domain name is described in the FX record. Therefore, if the capability of the network terminal existing in the zone is registered in each DNS server, capability information of each network terminal is registered in any one of DNS severs. Since DNS can search for the DNS server managing the domain name, it is possible to easily search for the DNS server in which capability information of a network terminal is registered from the mail address (domain name) of the network terminal. 
   Next, the following will explain an operation, which is executed when the capability exchange is performed by the above-structured communication system. In the explanation set forth below, it is assumed that IFAX  11 A on the first LAN  10 A is a transmitter terminal and IFAX  11 B on the second LAN  10 B is a destination terminal. 
     FIG. 7  shows one example of a sequence performed until IFAX  11 A on the transmitter side obtains the capability of IFAX  11 B on the receiver side from the server  14 B. In other words,  FIG. 7  shows the sequence of a case in which the capability information of IFAX  11 B on the receiver side is not registered in the server  13 A. 
   The IFAX  11 A makes inquiry about capability information of a desired destination terminal (IFAX  11 B) to the server  13 A. In this example, capability information of the desired destination terminal is not registered in the server  13 A. Therefore, the server  13 A sends back a response in which no capability information is registered to IFAX  11 A. 
   Next, IFAX  11 A makes inquiry about capability of the destination terminal to the DNS server  14 A, which manages the self-domain name, by use of a name resolver (client software for DNS). The inquiry about capability information is carried out using a command for requesting capability information and a mail address of the destination terminal. 
   The structure of the domain name management in DNS will be explained with reference to  FIG. 8 . The DNS server  14 A manages a domain name (abc: third hierarchy) in a zone A, and the DNS server  14 B manages a domain name (cba: third hierarchy) in a zone B. The high DNS server  16  manages a domain name (co: second hierarchy) in a zone C including DNS servers  14 A and  14 B therein. 
   A case in which the IFAX  11 A makes inquiry to the DNS server  14 A, which manages the zone A by use of the domain name (cba.co.jp) of IFAX  11 B will be explained. The DNS server  14 A makes inquiry to the high DNS server  16 , which manages the domain name (co: second hierarchy) of the zone C to which the DNS server  14 A belongs since the domain name (cba) is not included in the zone A. An IP address of the high DNS server  16 , which manages the domain name of the zone C, is one that is cached at an initial obtaining time. 
   The high server DNS  16  grasps the domain names (third hierarchy), which are managed by the low DNS server belonging to the zone C. For this reason, the high DNS server  16  can see that the domain name (cba) inquired is managed by the DNS server  14 B. The DNS server  14 A is notified of the IP address of the DNS server  14 B from the high DNS server  16 . DNS can thus surely know the IP address of the DNS server, which manages a desired domain name by going back to the high DNS server. 
   The DNS server  14 A, which has received inquiry from the IFAX  11 A, sends back a response of corresponding capability information to the IFAX  11 A when the inquiry can be solved by a zone information table  60 A, which the DNS server  14 A itself has. In this example, capability information of the destination terminal is not registered in the DNS server  14 A. In an unsolvable case, that is, a case of inquiry about a domain name of a zone other than the self-zone, inquiry is made to the high DNS server  16 . This inquiry is referred to as recursion. 
   When the high DNS server  16 , which has received inquiry, finds out a DNS server, which seems to grasp a corresponding domain name, the DNS server  16  notifies the DNS server  14 A of an IP address of the DNS server. When the high DNS server  16  cannot specify the DNS server, which seems to grasp the corresponding domain name, the DNS server  14 A makes inquiry about capability to higher DNS server. 
   The IP address of the DNS server  14 B, which manages the domain name included in the mail address of the destination terminal (IFAX  11 B), is thus obtained. The DNS server  14 A makes inquiry about capability of the destination terminal (IFAX  11 B) to the DNS server  14 B by use of the obtained IP address. 
   As mentioned above, capability information of the destination terminal (IFAX  11 B) is registered in the DNS server  14 B, which manages the domain name of the desired destination terminal (IFAX  11 B). Therefore, the DNS server  14 B gives a response of capability information of the desired destination terminal to the DNS server  14 A. The DNS server  14 A transmits the obtained capability information of the destination terminal to the IFAX  11 A. 
   Also, in DNS, even if the low DNS server( 14 A), which has received inquiry from the client, makes inquiry to a route server, which manages a top domain directly, it is possible to search for an IP address of a DNS server, which manages a desired domain name. In this case, the route server transmits an IP address of a high DNS server, which manages the domain name (jp) of the first hierarchy, to the low DNS server ( 14 A). Sequentially, when the low DNS server ( 14 A) makes inquiry to the high DNS server, which manages the domain name (jp) of the first hierarchy, the IP address of the high DNS server  16 , which manages the domain name (co) of the second hierarchy, is transmitted to the low DNS server ( 14 A). Moreover, when the low DNS server ( 14 A) makes inquiry to the low DNS server  16 , the IP address of the low DNS server  14 B, which manages the domain name to which the desired destination terminal belongs, is transmitted to the low DNS server ( 14 A). 
     FIGS. 9 and 10  are flowcharts showing a series of processing, which is from the time when IFAX  11 A makes inquiry about capability information to the time when an image is transmitted. A destination is designated by the panel section  29  and a transmission instruction is input (ST 901 ). When the destination terminal is a network terminal, a mail address, a telephone number (IFAX) or an One-touch dialing key number are input. Also, when the destination terminal is a G3 facsimile apparatus, a telephone number or an One-touch dialing key number is input. 
   In step ST 902 , the capability exchange section  31  recognizes that the destination terminal is the network terminal when the mail address is input. In a case where the telephone number or the One-touch dialing key number is input, it is determined whether or not the destination terminal is the network terminal using the destination information table  36 . If the same data as the input telephone number or the One-touch dialing key number is registered in the destination information table  36  and a mail address corresponding to such data is registered therein, the destination terminal is recognized as a network terminal. In the other cases, it is determined that the destination terminal is the G3 facsimile apparatus. 
   In step ST 902 , when it is determined that the destination terminal is the G3 facsimile apparatus, the FAX section  26  carries out capability exchange in accordance with a normal facsimile procedure. Then, the data processing circuit  20  provides processing, which is suitable for the capability of a destination FAX, to an image signal, thereafter such an image signal is transmitted to a telephone network from the FAX section  26  (ST 903 ). 
   When it is determined that the destination terminal is the network terminal in step ST 902 , inquiry about capability information of the destination terminal is made to the server  13 A via the LAN control section  28  (ST 904 ). An HTTP protocol can be used in communications between IFAX  11 A and the server  13 A. 
   It is possible to request only capability information of an arbitrary item from capability information registered in the capability exchange table  50  of the server  13 A. For example, when information of the paper size and the encryption format are not needed, item numbers of the paper size and the encryption format and filtering instruction data are added to a command for requesting capability information. As a command, a CGI command can be used. A request for CGI processing for filtering capability information is given to the server  13 A. 
   If capability information of the destination terminal is registered in the capability exchange table  50  of the server  13 A, IFAX  11 A is notified of capability information from the server  13 A. If capability information of the destination terminal is not registered in the capability exchange table  50  of the server  13 A, IFAX  11 A is notified of a message in which no capability information is registered from the server  13 A. In this example, it is assumed that capability information is not registered in the server  13 A. 
   IFAX  11 A can obtain the part of capability information stored in the server  13 A. When filtering of capability information is instructed as a result of analyzing a CGI string from the IFAX  11 A and filtering of capability information is instructed, the server  13 A starts an application and deletes capability information of the instructed item from capability information. Then, filtered capability information is transmitted to the IFAX  11 A as a response. 
   In this embodiment, the capability exchange section  31  recognizes that no capability information of the desired destination terminal is registered in the server  13 A from the message received from the server  13 A (ST 905 ). In a case where no capability information of the desired destination terminal is registered in the server  13 A, a server registration flag is set to flag=1 (ST 906 ). The server registration flag is a flag showing that capability information is registered in the server  13 A after capability information is obtained. 
   In ST 905 , when it is determined that no capability information of the desired destination terminal is registered in the server  13 A, inquiry about capability information of the destination terminal is made to the DNS server  14 A, which manages the domain name of the same zone (A), by use of the mail address of the destination terminal (ST 907 ). The inquiry about capability information is made using a command for requesting capability information and the mail address of the destination terminal (IFAX  11 B). As explained above, the destination DNS server ( 14 B), which manages the domain name of the destination terminal (IFAX  11 B), is determined at the point where the network of the DNS server goes back to one higher DNS server  16 . The DNS server  14 A of a demander is notified of the IP address of the destination DNS server  14 B from the high DNS server  16 . The DNS server  14 A obtains capability information from the destination DNS server ( 14 B) as mentioned above and transmits it to IFAX  11 A. 
   The capability exchange section  31  of IFAX  111 A obtains capability information of the destination terminal from the DNS server  14 A (ST  908 ). Thereby, it is possible to surely obtain the capability information only by making an inquiry to the DNS server, even if the capability information of the destination terminal is not registered in the server  13 A, which is first queried. The reason is that capability information of the destination terminal is registered in the DNS server, which is searchable by the mail address of the destination terminal. 
   Here, there is an encryption function as one of capabilities, which the network terminal has. The IFAX  11 A can encrypt transmitting data by a predetermined encryption format to increase the security of data to be transferred on the Internet. The encryption can be instructed to the capability exchange section  31  by a button operation from the panel section  29 . If an encryption decoding function is not mounted on the destination terminal, the destination terminal cannot decode transmitting data. For this reason, whether or not the encryption decoding function, which corresponds to the encryption format on the transmitter side, is mounted on the destination terminal must be confirmed by capability exchange. 
   In step ST 909 , when it is determined that the encryption of the transmitting data is not instructed from the panel section  29 , a processing sequence and a processing parameter in the data processing circuit  20  are determined (ST 910 ). In this transmission, the processing section to be used in the data processing circuit  20  and the order of processing are determined by the processing sequence. The processing parameter determines parameters such as a scaling rate suitable for the paper size and resolution suitable for destination resolution, which are used in the processing section. 
   In step ST 911 , the capability exchange section  31  controls the necessary processing sections of the data processing circuit  20  in accordance with the processing sequence and the processing parameter determined in step ST 910 . An image signal to which processing suitable for the capability of the destination terminal is provided is output to the e-mail generation section  32 . Then, the e-mail generation section  32  generates an e-mail including image data, and transmits it to the mail server  15 B having a mail box for a destination terminal from the mail transmitting section  33 . Thus, communications, which is suitable for the capability of the destination terminal, is referred to as full mode transmission. When it is determined that the encryption of the transmitting data is input from the panel section  29  in step ST 909 , it is determined whether or not an encryption function (including encryption decoding section) is contained in the capability information of the destination terminal previously obtained (ST 912 ). As a result, if the encryption function is contained in the capability information of the destination terminal, processing goes to step ST 910  and a processing sequence containing the encryption is determined. While, if the encryption function is not contained in the capability information of the destination terminal, CPU  21  determines measures in accordance with an instruction table stored on the ROM  22  (ST 913 ). In the instruction table, there is described a method of taking measures against a case in which no encryption function is mounted on the destination terminal, which receives transmitting data, which has been instructed to encrypted. As a result of referring to the instruction table, if inquiry to a manager&#39;s terminal is described as measures therein (ST 914 ), a message relating to inquiry is transmitted to a predetermined manager&#39;s network terminal (ST 915 ). The message relating to inquiry and an address of the manager&#39;s network terminal are given to the e-mail generation section  32 . The e-mail generation section  32  generates an e-mail including the message relating to the inquiry and a destination address to which the address of the manager&#39;s network terminal is inserted. The generated e-mail is transmitted to the manager&#39;s network terminal. Also, as a result of referring to the instruction table, if a FAX transmission of transmitting data to the destination terminal is described as measures therein (ST 916 ), transmitting data is sent to the destination terminal in a G3 mode by the FAX section  26  (ST 917 ). In the FAX transmission in step ST 917 , the FAX section  26  carries out capability exchange in accordance with a normal facsimile procedure. A telephone number of the destination terminal is obtained from the destination information table  36 . 
   Also, as a result of referring to the instruction table, if an output of a non-transmitted message is described as measures therein in step ST 913 , the non-transmitted message is displayed on a display of the panel section  29  (ST 918 ). Or, the non-transmitted message is printed out by the printer  25  (ST 918 ). 
   Thus, when an encryption decoding function corresponding to the encryption format on the transmitter side is not mounted on the destination terminal even though the instruction of decoding transmitting data is given, transmitting data can be prohibited from being transmitted onto the Internet without being encrypted. 
   It should be noted that communications moves to a simple mode transmission to be described later if capability information cannot be obtained for any reason in processing of step ST 908 . In this case, the capability exchange section  31  confirms that the encryption instruction is not input (ST 919 ), thereafter determining the processing sequence of the data processing circuit  20  and the processing parameter to be suited to the capability as per a minimum set (ST 920 ). An image signal output from the data processing circuit  20  is converted to the e-mail by the e-mail generation section  32 , and transmitted in accordance with the simple mode (ST 921 ). 
   Also, when IFAX  11 A obtains capability information non-registered in the server  13 A by the above-mentioned capability exchange, IFAX  11 A registers the capability information to the server  13 A. 
     FIG. 11  shows a flowchart for registering capability information to the server  13 A. The capability exchange section  31  determines whether or not the server registration flag is set to flag=1 (ST 1102 ) when obtaining capability information from an external section (ST 1101 ). A case of flag=1 shows the fact that no capability information is registered in the server  13 A. In this case, the obtained capability information of the destination terminal and the mail address are stored in a specific address on the RAM  23  (ST 1103 ). 
   A time zone where capability information is registered in the server  13 A is predetermined. According to the embodiment, a time zone where the operating ratio of the server  13 A is reduced is set as a registration time zone in the capability registration section  37 . By use of the time zone where the operating ratio of the server  13 A is reduced, a possibility decreases where a capability registration operation and the other will be overlapped with each other. For this reason, capability information can be obtained without increasing a load on the server  13 A. If the capability of the server  13 A is sufficiently high, capability information may be registered to the server  13 A at the time when new capability information is obtained. Or, when spare time is generated, capability information may be registered to the server  13 A. 
   When current time is the registration time zone (ST 1104 ), the capability registration section  37  extracts the capability information of the destination terminal and the mail address thereof from the specific address on the RAM  23 . Then, the capability registration section  37  transmits a command for requesting a registration and registration information (capability information of the destination terminal and the mail address thereof) to the server  13 A (ST 1105 ). As a result, capability information is newly registered in the server  13 A. Thereby, capability information of the destination terminal to which the capability exchange has been provided by the network terminal of the LAN  10 A is automatically registered to the server  13 A. 
   Next, an operation of the server  13 A will be explained.  FIG. 12  is a flowchart showing a case in which the server  13 A provides capability information. After the server  13 A receives inquiry about capability information from the IFAX  11 A (ST 1201 ). The server  13 A searches the capability exchange table  50  for capability information using the mail address instructed from the IFAX  11 A (ST 1202 ). 
   The server checks whether or not capability information of the destination terminal is registered in the capability exchange table  50  (ST 1203 ). If the capability information is not registered in the capability exchange table  50 , the server  13 A sends the IFAX  11 A as a client a response in which no capability information is registered (ST 1204 ). Also, if the capability information is registered in the capability exchange table  50 , the server  13 A transmits capability information to the IFAX  11 A (ST 1205 ). 
     FIG. 13  shows a flowchart for registering capability information to the server  13 A. The server  13 A receives a registration request for capability information from the IFAX  11 A (ST 1301 ). If the server  13 A finishes preparations, the server  13 A transmits a registration permitting signal to the IFAX  11 A (ST 1302 ). Thereafter, capability information (name of the kind of apparatus and capability table) of the network terminal and the mail address thereof are sent from the IFAX  11 A (ST 1303 ). The server  13 A makes the mail address of the network terminal and capability information corresponded to each other, and registers them in the capability exchange table  50  (ST 1304 ). At this time, if the capability table corresponding to the name of the kind of apparatus is already registered therein, only the name of the kind of apparatus may be registered thereto. Also, if a telephone number is also registered to the capability exchange table  50 , it is possible to search capability information even when not only the mail address but also the telephone number is used as a key. For that end, the IFAX  11 A transmits data in which the telephone number is added to the capability information of the network terminal and the mail address thereof. 
   Next, an operation of the DNS server  14 A will be explained.  FIG. 14  is a flowchart showing a schematic operation of the DNS server  14 A. The DNS server  14 A receives inquiry about capability, which the IFAX  11 B possesses, from the IFAX  11 A belonging to the zone A (LAN  10 A)(ST 1401 ). The IFAX  11 A makes inquiry using a command for requesting capability information and a mail address of a destination terminal (host: IFAX  11 B). 
   The DNS server  14 A determines whether or not the DNS server  14 A can solve inquiry by itself (ST 1402 ). If the inquiry is one that is related to the domain name, which the DNS server  14 A manages, the DNS server  14 A determines that the inquiry is solvable. If it is determined that the inquiry is solvable in step ST 1402 , the DNS server  14 A determines whether or not an IP address of the host is requested (ST 1403 ). If the IP address of the host is requested, the DNS server  14 A extracts an IP address of a target host from the zone information table  60 A (ST 1404 ). 
   While, if it is determined that the IP address of the host is not requested in ST 1403 , it is determined whether or not capability information of the target host is requested (ST 1405 ). If it is determined that capability information of the target host is requested in ST 1405 , capability information described in the FAX code in connection with the target host is extracted from the zone information table  60  (ST 1406 ). If no host name is included in the mail address, capability information is obtained using a user. In this case, the user name is registered in a name item for a zone information table. In this case, the mail address or the user name is registered in a name item for a zone information table. In the case of the other inquiries, corresponding processing is executed in step ST 1407 . 
   If it is determined that the inquiry is unsolvable in step ST 1402 , the inquiry is transferred to the high DNS server  16  (ST 1408 ). Since the IP address of the DNS server is sent from the high DNS server  16 , the inquiry is output to the other DNS server using the IP address. The repetition of this processing obtains a response to the inquiry. Thus, the searching of desired information in place of the client is referred to as recursion. 
   The DNS server  14 B has a zone information table  60 B, which is structured in the same manner as the zone information table of  FIG. 6 , and operates in accordance with the flowchart of  FIG. 14 . In the zone information table  60 B, capability information of IFAX  11 B is described in the FAX record. For example, ifax 1  registered in the table of  FIG. 6  is the host name included in the mail address of IFAX  11 B. Namely, capability information of IFAX 11 B is described in the FAX record corresponding to ifax 1 . 
   In a case where the DNS server  14 B receives inquiry about IFAX  11 B from the DNS server  14 A, capability information is extracted from the FX record corresponding to the host name included in the mail address. Then, extracted capability information is transmitted to the DNS server  14 A. 
   Though CPU is used in communications between the network terminal of inquiry and the DNS server, the other communication protocol may be used. 
   Second Embodiment 
   The communication system according to a second embodiment has the same system structure as the communication system according to the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the IFAX  11 A changes a server, which first obtains capability information, in accordance with an address of the destination terminal. 
     FIG. 15  is a flowchart showing a series of processing, which is from the time when IFAX  11 A obtains capability information from a server (server  13 A or DNS server) to the time when information is transmitted. A mail address of a destination terminal is input (ST 1501 ). Then, it is determined whether or not a domain name of the destination terminal is a domain name of the same system (ST 1502 ). 
   Here, it is assumed that capability information of the network terminal of the same system including a network of LAN  10 A is registered to the capability exchange table  50  of the server  13 A. By checking the domain name of the network terminal, it is possible to determine whether or not desired capability information is registered in the server  13 A before making inquiry to the server  13 A. 
   If the domain of the destination terminal is the domain name of the same system in ST 1502 , inquiry about capability information is made to the server  13 A (ST 1503 ) In this case, there is a high possibility that desired capability information will be registered to the capability exchange table  50  of the server  13 A. The server  13 A checks whether or not the capability information of the destination terminal is registered in the capability exchange table  50  of the server  13 A (ST 1504 ). If the capability information is registered in the server  13 A, processing moves to step ST 1507  and a full mode transmission is carried out. 
   While, if the domain of the destination terminal is not the domain name of the same system in ST 1502 , inquiry about capability information to the DNS server  14 A is performed without making inquiry to the server  13 A (ST 1505 ). If capability information is obtained from DNS in the same manner as the aforementioned first embodiment(ST 1506 ), processing moves to step ST 1507 , and a full mode transmission is carried out. It should be noted that a simple mode transmission is carried out (ST 1508 ), if capability information cannot be obtained form DNS for any reason (ST 1506 ). 
   Thus, according to this embodiment, when the domain of the destination terminal was not the domain name of the same system, inquiry about capability information to the DNS server  14 A was performed without making inquiry to the server  13 A. Therefore, IFAX  11 A can obtain capability information with efficiency. 
   According to the above-mentioned embodiment, the server first obtaining capability information was selected in accordance with the domain name of the destination terminal. However, the server may be selected in accordance with the other conditions. Also, according to the above-mentioned embodiment, the servers to be selected were the server  13 A and the DNS servers in DNS. However, a plurality of servers corresponding to the server  13 A is prepared and an optimum server may be selected from these servers. 
   Third Embodiment 
   The communication system according to a third embodiment has the same system structure as the communication system according to the aforementioned first embodiment. This embodiment shows an example in which IFAX  11 A automatically obtains capability information of the network terminal in which an address is newly registered to the destination information table  36  and registers obtained capability information to the server. 
   When a user operates the panel section  29  so as to register a new address to the destination information table  36  (ST 1601 ), CPU  21  sets a capability obtaining flag to flag=1 in association with the new address (ST 1602 ). The capability obtaining flag=1 means that the new address is registered. 
   Next, it is determined whether or not current time is capability obtaining time (ST 1603 ). If capability obtaining time comes, a mail address in which capability obtaining flag=1 is set and capability registration should be made is extracted from the destination information table  36  (ST 1604 ). 
   If the mail address in which capability registration should be made is extracted, IFAX  11 A makes inquiry about capability of a communication apparatus in which the mail address is newly registered to the DNS server  14 A, and obtains capability information (ST 1605 ). 
   When IFAX  11 A receives desired capability information from the DNS server inquired, the capability information is registered to the server  13 A (ST 1606 ). As a result, obtained capability information is registered to the server  13 A to which IFAX  11 A first makes inquiry about capability information. 
   In processing in step ST 1607 , it is determined whether or not a mail address in which capability registration should be carried out remains. Then, if a target network terminal remains, processing moves to step ST 1605 . 
   Thus, according to this embodiment, when a new address registration of the network terminal is carried out in IFAX  11 A, IFAX  11 A automatically makes inquiry about capability information of the network terminal to DNS and obtains capability information, and obtained capability information can be registered to the server  13 A to which IFAX  11 A first gains access. 
   Also, by setting capability obtaining time to a time zone where frequency in use of IFAX  11 A is decreased, capability information can be registered to the server without putting an excessive load on the IFAX  11 A. Or, by setting capability obtaining time to a time zone where the operating ratio of the server is reduced, capability information can be registered to the server without putting an excessive load on the server. 
   Also, every time when the content of the destination information table  36  of IFAX  11 A is updated, inquiry about the updated capability of the communication apparatus is made to DNS and capability information is obtained, thereafter the capability exchange table  50  of the server  13 A may be updated. 
   Also, inquiry about capability of the network terminal registered in the destination information table  36  of IFAX  11 A is periodically made to DNS to be collected and the content of the capability exchange table  50  of the server  13 A may be rewritten to the latest information corrected. 
   Also, IFAX  11 A fetches the mail addresses of the network terminal stored in the capability exchange table  50  from the server  13 A in accordance with the instruction from the user or periodically. Then, inquiry about each fetched mail address is made to DNS to collect capability information and the capability exchange table  50  of the server  13 A may be rewritten. 
   Fourth Embodiment 
   The communication system according to a fourth embodiment is an example in which a server makes inquiry about capability information to a DNS server. The communication system according to the fourth embodiment has the same system structure as the communication system according to the aforementioned first to third embodiments excepting the function used when the server  13 A obtains capability information. 
     FIG. 17  shows a sequence view for obtaining capability information in the communication system according to this embodiment. IFAX  11 A makes inquiry about capability information of a destination terminal (IFAX  11 B) to the server  13 A. 
   The server  13 A, having the capability exchange table  50 , makes inquiry about capability to the DNS server  14 A, which manages the domain name of IFAX  11 A when desired capability information is not registered in the capability exchange table  50 . The inquiry about capability information is made using a command for requesting capability information and a mail address of a destination terminal. As a communication protocol between the server  13 A and the DNS server  14 A, an LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) can be used. The inquiry about capability information is made using inquiry/search function supported by LDAP. In this case, a communication destination is an LDAP server. 
   The low DNS server  14 A does not manage the domain name included in the mail address of the destination terminal. Then, the low DNS server  14 A searches DNS for capability information in place of a client (server  13 A). For this reason, the DNS server  14 A forwards inquiry to the high DNS server  16  of the zone to which DNS server  14 A belongs. 
   In this embodiment, the high DNS server  16  manages the domain of the DNS server  14 B, which manages the domain name of the destination terminal. Therefore, the high DNS server  16  notifies the DNS server  14 A of an IP address of the destination DNS server  14 B. 
   The DNS server  14 A gains access to the destination DNS server  14 B using its IP address, and makes inquiry about capability of the destination terminal. As a result, the DNS server  14 B extracts capability information of the destination terminal from the zone information table  60 B of the DNS server  14 B, and notifies the DNS server  14 A of the extracted capability information. Then, the DNS server  14 A forwards capability information of the destination terminal to the server  13 A. Moreover, the server  13 A notifies IFAX  11 A of capability information. Also, the server  13 A registers capability information obtained from DNS to the capability exchange table  50 . 
   Thus, according to this embodiment, the server  13 A obtains capability information from DNS and notifies IFAX  11 A of capability information. For this reason, IFAX  11 A makes inquiry about capability information to the server  13 A only one time, thereby capability information can be surely obtained. 
   Also, the server  13 A obtains capability information from DNS and registers it to the capability exchange table  50  of the server  13 A. For this reason, a load put on IFAX  11 A relating to an external registration of capability information can be reduced, and the need for mounting the external registration function on IFAX  11 A can be eliminated. 
   As a server to which the server  13 A makes inquiry about capability, one or a plurality of servers other than DNS server may exist. If there is no desired capability information in one or the plurality of servers to which the server  13 A has previously made inquiry, inquiry to DNS may be carried out. In this case, the order of inquiry can be predetermined based on arbitrary conditions such as access time, domain names, etc. 
   Fifth Embodiment 
   This embodiment shows an example in which capability information of a part of the destination terminal is registered in IFAX. The communication system according to the fifth embodiment has the same system as the communication system according to the first embodiment. 
     FIG. 18  shows a functional block view of IFAX  11 A. IFAX  11 A comprises a destination information table  36  in which a name of the kind of apparatus is registered for each network terminal to which destination information is registered.  FIG. 19  shows the destination information table  36  to which the name of the kind of apparatus is registered. Also, a capability table  180  is prepared for each name of the kind of apparatus of the network terminal registered in the destination information table  36 .  FIG. 20  shows a content of data registered in the capability table  180 . In the capability table  180 , the name of the kind of apparatus and a mount capability are registered in a pair. 
   Each apparatus other than IFAX  11 A has the same function as that of the aforementioned first embodiment, and the explanation will be omitted. 
   Next, the following will explain an operation for which the above-structured IFAX  11 A obtains capability with reference to  FIG. 21 . Similar to the first embodiment, in step ST 901 , a destination input from the panel section  29  and a transmission instruction are detected. In step ST 902 , the capability exchange section  31  recognizes that the destination terminal is the network terminal when a mail address is input. In a case where a telephone number or an One-touch dialing key number is input, it is determined whether or not the destination terminal is the network terminal using the destination information table  36 . If it is determined that the destination terminal is the G3 facsimile apparatus in step ST 902 , a facsimile transmission from the FAX section  26  to a telephone network is carried out (ST 903 ). 
   If it is determined that the destination terminal is the network terminal in step ST 902 , the destination information table  36  is checked (ST 2101 ), and it is determined whether or not the destination terminal subjected to transmission instruction is one that is already registered in the destination information table  36  (ST 2102 ). 
   It should be noted that the registration of the destination terminal to the destination information table  36  is confirmed in step ST 902  when the telephone number or the One-touch dialing key number is input. For this reason, processing in steps ST 2101 , ST 2102  can be skipped. 
   When it is confirmed that destination information of the destination terminal is registered in step ST 2102 , whether or not capability information (name of the kind of apparatus) of the destination terminal is registered in the destination information table  36  is determined (ST 2103 ). If capability information is registered in the destination information table  36 , corresponding capability information is extracted from the capability table  180  having the name of the same kind of apparatus by use of the name of the kind of apparatus. Then, processing moves to step ST 909  of  FIG. 10 , and a full mode transmission is prepared. 
   Thus, whether or not desired capability information is registered in an internal memory of IFAX  11 A is first confirmed, and inquiry about capability information is made to the external server  13 A or DNS only when no capability information is registered. For this reason, as compared with a system in which inquiry about capability information is made to the external server  13 A or DNS without exception, capability information can be obtained with efficiency. In the case where capability information is registered in the internal memory of IFAX  11 A, time required to obtain capability information can be reduced. 
   If it is confirmed that capability information of the destination terminal is not registered in step ST 2103 , an internal registration flag is set to flag=1 (ST 2104 ). The case of flag=1 shows that capability information of the destination terminal to be obtained is not registered in the destination information table  36  of IFAX  11 A and the capability table  180 . 
   When inquiry about capability information of the destination terminal is made to the server  13 A (ST 904 ) and the result of inquiry shows that no capability information is registered in the server  13 A (ST 905 ), a server registration flag is set to flag=1 (ST 906 ) if the internal registration flag cannot be set. If the internal registration flag is set to flag=1, processing moves to step ST 907  without setting the server registration flag. The processing including and after step ST 907  is already explained in  FIGS. 9 and 10 , and the explanation will be omitted. 
     FIG. 22  shows a flowchart for which IFAX  11 A registers newly obtained capability information. If IFAX  11 A obtains new capability information by the aforementioned capability exchange (ST 1101 ), the state of the internal registration flag is checked (ST 2201 ). At this time, it is determined whether or not a capability table, which corresponds to a name of the kind of apparatus newly registered, exists in the destination information table  36  as a capability table  180 . If no capability table exists, a capability table, which corresponds to a name of the kind of apparatus newly registered, is added and registered. The content of the capability table is included in capability information obtained by the capability exchange. The capability table of the same name of the kind of apparatus exists when the same name of the kind of apparatus is registered in the destination information table  36 . It is unnecessary to register the capability table again. 
   Thereby, in connection with the network terminal registered in the destination information table  36  of IFAX  11 A, the capability information is surely registered in the destination information cable  36  and the capability table  180 . 
   While, when the internal registration flag is not set in step ST 2201 , the state of the server registration flag is checked in step ST 1102 . When the server registration flag is not set, no registration processing is not carried out since capability information of the destination terminal is registered in the capability exchange table  50  of the server  13 A. Conversely, if the server registration flag is set to flag=1, capability information is temporarily stored (ST 1103 ), and capability information is registered in the server  13 A (ST 1105 ) when registration time comes (ST 1104 ). Thereby, capability information of the network terminal, which has not been registered in the destination information table  36  of IFAX  11 A and has been subjected to capability exchange previously, is automatically registered to the capability exchange table  50  of the server  13 A. 
   According to the embodiment of the present invention, there is a possibility that desired capability information will be registered in three sections, that is, the internal memory ( 180 ) of IFAX  11 A, server  13 A, DNS. Moreover, capability information may be registered to the WWW server  17  placed on the Internet, which is easily accessible from the network terminal on the other network. 
   Thus, if a plurality of candidates for inquiry destination exists, it is possible to make inquiry about capability in order of precedence. For example, inquiry may be made in order of the candidate having the shortest access time. Or, inquiry may be made in order of the candidate having the highest possibility that capability information of the destination terminal will be stored. In this case, inquiry to DNS is finally made. 
   The above explained the case in which transmitting data was sent in accordance with the capability of the destination of terminal. However, if the capability of the destination terminal does not satisfy a predetermined condition, transmitting data may be registered to the WWW server  17  without being sent to the destination terminal directly. In this case, URL of the WWW server  17  is transmitted to the destination terminal by the e-mail. A user of the destination terminal uses the above URL sent from the network terminal on which capability higher than that of the destination terminal is mounted, and downloads transmitting data from the WWW server  17 . 
   The present invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments. For example, according to the above-mentioned embodiments, the facsimile apparatus was explained as a communication terminal. However, the scope of the present invention includes the other image communication apparatus. For example, the present invention includes a PC to which a LAN card or a modem is connected in order to make connection with the Internet. The scanner or the printer can be connected to the PC through an external section I/F. The present invention also includes a network scanner having a network communication interface, and a network copy machine. Moreover, the present invention includes an image combination machine comprising a scanner, a printer, a copy machine, a facsimile apparatus, etc. 
   Furthermore, the present invention includes a computer-readable storage medium having a program code causing a computer to execute the same processing as that of the facsimile apparatus according to the aforementioned embodiment. 
   The present invention is not limited to the above described embodiments, and various variations and modifications may be possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
   This application is based on the Japanese Patent Application No.HEI11-88236 filed on Mar. 30, 1999, entire content of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.