JP4665909B2 - Facsimile device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a facsimile equipment.

In recent years, facsimile apparatuses that connect to a plurality of lines (for example, analog network, ISDN, IP digital network) have appeared. Techniques have been proposed for selectively using the plurality of lines depending on the application (see, for example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3, and Patent Document 4).
JP 2002-77307 A JP 2002-26969 A JP 2001-230862 A JP 2002-141938 A

The present invention aims to provide a facsimile equipment which can easily realize a high facsimile communication reliability.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a connection means for connecting to a plurality of communication lines, a self-station number registration means for registering a self-station number corresponding to each communication line, and the communication line. When a call is made to the own station number registered in the own station number registering means and an incoming call corresponding to the call is made, the called communication line corresponds to the called local station telephone number. Local station line determination for determining that the communication line is a communication line, and when there is no incoming call corresponding to the call, the call communication line is a communication line corresponding to the caller's own telephone number Means .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine the communication line corresponding to the local station telephone number only by registering a plurality of local station telephone numbers as compared with the case where the present configuration is not provided.

  Embodiments of a facsimile apparatus and a facsimile communication program according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration of a facsimile machine 1 according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a facsimile apparatus 1 includes a plurality of modular connectors 2 (two modular connectors in this embodiment), a scanner module unit 3, a printer module unit 4, an image storage unit 5, and a codec / resolution conversion unit 6. , FAX Modem 7, communication parameter setting unit 8, network control unit 9, own station line determination unit 10, line switching unit 11, line selection condition setting unit 12, line selection unit 13, transmission state determination criterion setting unit 14, transmission state determination Unit 15 and incoming call detection unit 16.

  The scanner module unit 3 performs processing for optically reading a document to be transmitted by facsimile. The read image is stored in the image storage unit 5.

  The printer module unit 4 performs a process of printing an image stored in the image storage unit 5 on a sheet when an image is received by facsimile reception.

  The Codec / resolution conversion unit 6 performs image encoding / decoding and resolution conversion. It should be noted that at the time of facsimile transmission, encoding and resolution conversion of an image read by the scanner module unit 3 are performed, and at the time of facsimile reception, decoding and resolution conversion of an image converted from an audio signal are performed by FAX Modem 7.

  FAX Modem 7 is a modem having a function of facsimile communication (transmission and reception). Note that, during facsimile transmission, the image encoded by the Codec / resolution conversion unit 6 is converted into an audio signal and transmitted, and when receiving a facsimile, the network control unit 9 converts the audio signal received into an image. Do.

  The communication parameter setting unit 8 performs processing for setting communication parameters used for facsimile communication performed by the FAX Modem 7. When there are a plurality of communication parameters, the optimum communication parameter for the line used for facsimile communication is selected and set.

  The network control unit 9 transmits and receives audio signals via the line.

  The own-station line determination unit 10 performs own-station line determination processing described later.

  The line switching unit 11 performs a process of switching a line used for facsimile communication from a plurality of lines connected to the facsimile apparatus. In the present embodiment, since the facsimile apparatus is connected to the line 1 and the line 2, the line switching unit 11 switches between the line 1 and the line 2.

  The line selection condition setting unit 12 performs processing for setting a selection condition for a line used for facsimile communication. Examples of selection conditions include priority, prohibition / possible conditions, and combinations thereof.

  The line selection unit 13 performs a process of selecting a line to be used for facsimile communication according to the line selection condition set in the line selection condition setting unit 12. The line switching unit 11 performs line switching according to the selection of the line selection unit 13.

  The transmission state determination criterion setting unit 14 performs a process of setting a determination criterion for the transmission state of the line performing facsimile transmission. Examples of the determination criteria include the number of retransmissions, communication speed, delay time, data error rate, and the like, or a combination thereof. Note that the determination criteria may be set to different values for each line.

  The transmission state determination unit 15 performs a process of determining the transmission state of a line that performs facsimile transmission based on the determination criterion set in the transmission state determination criterion setting unit 14.

  The incoming call detection unit 16 performs processing for detecting an incoming facsimile reception call on each line.

  Note that a program (this book) having the above-described communication parameter setting unit 8, own station line determination unit 10, line selection condition setting unit 12, line selection unit 13, transmission state determination criterion setting unit 14, and transmission state determination unit 15 as functions. It is also possible to apply a configuration in which a facsimile communication program according to the invention is incorporated in a general-purpose facsimile device, in which case the facsimile communication program is stored in a storage unit (for example, a hard disk) of the facsimile device. Then, the arithmetic unit (for example, CPU) of the facsimile apparatus executes the facsimile communication program stored in the storage unit.

  The facsimile apparatus 1 according to the present invention determines whether the transmission state of a line on which facsimile transmission is performed is good or bad when performing facsimile transmission, and when it is determined to be defective, switches to another line and performs facsimile retransmission. It is characterized by that.

  A processing procedure for line switching based on a facsimile transmission state performed by the facsimile apparatus will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the facsimile apparatus receives an instruction for facsimile transmission (S201), the line selection unit selects a line to be used for facsimile transmission according to the selection conditions set in the line selection condition setting unit (S202), and the FAX Modem selects Facsimile transmission using the line is started (S203), and the transmission state determination unit determines the transmission state of the line that performs facsimile transmission based on the determination criteria set in the transmission state determination criterion setting unit (S204). .

  If the transmission state determination unit determines that the transmission state is good (YES in S205), FAX Modem continues facsimile transmission (S206) and ends the process.

  If the transmission state determination unit determines that the transmission state is bad (NO in S205), the FAX Modem interrupts facsimile transmission (S207), and the line selection unit follows the selection conditions set in the line selection condition setting unit. A line to be used for facsimile transmission is selected (S208).

  If there is a line to be selected (YES in S209), the line switching unit switches to the line to be selected (S210) and returns to the step of S203.

  If there is no line to be selected (NO in S209), the process ends as a facsimile transmission error (S211), and the process ends.

  The facsimile apparatus 1 according to the present invention has a plurality of communication parameters and is characterized by selecting a communication parameter optimum for a line used for facsimile communication. This makes it possible to perform facsimile communication that is optimal for the characteristics unique to the communication network connected to the selected line. Note that the communication parameter may be set either manually by the user or automatically after connection.

  A processing procedure for selecting a communication parameter optimum for the line performed by the facsimile apparatus will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

  When the facsimile apparatus starts up due to power ON or the like, the line selection unit selects an initial setting line (S301), and FAX Modem sets initial setting communication parameters (S302).

  When performing facsimile reception (NO in S303), the incoming call detection unit detects an incoming line (S304), the line switching unit switches to the incoming line (S305), and FAX Modem sets an appropriate communication parameter for the incoming line ( In S306, the FAX Modem starts facsimile reception (S307) and ends the process.

  When performing facsimile transmission (YES in S303), the FAX Modem starts facsimile transmission (S308), and the transmission state determination unit performs facsimile transmission based on the determination criteria set in the transmission state determination criterion setting unit. The transmission state of the connected line is determined (S309).

  If the transmission state determination unit determines that the transmission state is good (YES in S309), the FAX Modem continues facsimile transmission (S310) and ends the process.

  If the transmission state determination unit determines that the transmission state is bad (NO in S309), the FAX Modem interrupts facsimile transmission (S311), and the line selection unit follows the selection conditions set in the line selection condition setting unit. A line used for facsimile transmission is selected (S312).

  If there is a line to be selected (YES in S313), the line switching unit switches to the line to be selected (S314), and FAX Modem sets an appropriate communication parameter for the line to be selected (S315). Return.

  If there is no line to select (NO in S313), the process ends as a facsimile transmission error (S316), and the process ends.

  The communication parameters include communication parameters for digital facsimile communication for communication over an IP digital network, in addition to communication parameters for analog facsimile communication for communication over an analog public telephone network. The communication parameter for analog facsimile communication and the communication parameter for digital facsimile communication have different values depending on one or more of cable length, delay, transmission level, communication speed, and fallback level.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 4, when the facsimile apparatus 1 is connected to the line 1 for performing analog facsimile communication and the line 2 for performing digital facsimile communication, the digital facsimile communication differs from the analog facsimile communication in that the delay and packet Since communication parameters for correcting a failure such as a loss are required, when performing digital facsimile communication using the line 2, communication parameters for digital facsimile communication can be set.

  The facsimile apparatus 1 according to the present invention is characterized in that it performs a local station line discrimination process for automatically discriminating the type of line to be connected. Specifically, a corresponding local telephone number (for example, “03-XXXX-XXXX” for an analog line, “050-XXXX-XXXX” for an IP digital network) is assigned to each line, The local telephone number is registered in the facsimile machine 1. Here, an arbitrary number is selected from a plurality of local telephone numbers, a call is made via an arbitrarily selected line, and an incoming call is made via another line (that is, a line other than the arbitrarily selected line). In some cases, the number is the local telephone number corresponding to the line, and if there is no incoming call via another line (ie, a line other than the line selected arbitrarily), the number is arbitrarily selected. This is the local phone number corresponding to the line.

  The processing procedure of the local station line discrimination processing performed by the facsimile apparatus will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  The own station line discriminating unit arbitrarily selects the own station telephone number (S501), the own station line discriminating unit arbitrarily selects the line (S502), and the own station line discriminating unit selects the selected own line from the selected line. A call is made to the office telephone number (S503).

  If there is an incoming call (YES in S504), the network control unit performs an incoming call process (S505), and the own station line discriminating unit discriminates that the called line is a line corresponding to the originating local telephone number. If the calling line discrimination processing (ie, processing from S507 to S508) has not been completed (NO in S507), the process returns to step S502, and the calling line discrimination processing has been completed. If so (YES in S507), the process proceeds to step S510.

  If there is no incoming call (NO in S504), the own station line discriminating unit discriminates that the calling line is a line corresponding to the calling local station telephone number (S508), and discriminates the incoming line. If the processing (ie, processing from S505 to S506) has not been completed (NO in S509), the process returns to the step of S502, and if the incoming line determination processing has been completed (YES in S509), the step of S510 Proceed to

  Then, the own station line discriminating unit sets a line corresponding to the own station telephone number (S510), and when there is an unset own station telephone number (YES in S511), the process returns to the step of S501, and is not set. Is not present (NO in S511), the process is terminated.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the line switching based on the facsimile transmission state which a facsimile apparatus performs. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for selecting communication parameters optimum for a line performed by a facsimile apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the facsimile apparatus connected to an analog public telephone network and an IP digital network. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of the self-station line discrimination | determination process which a facsimile apparatus performs.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Facsimile apparatus 2 Modular connector 3 Scanner module part 4 Printer module part 5 Image memory | storage part 6 Codec / resolution conversion part 7 FAX Modem
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 Communication parameter setting part 9 Network control part 10 Own station line discrimination | determination part 11 Line switching part 12 Line selection condition setting part 13 Line selection part 14 Transmission state judgment reference | standard setting part 15 Transmission state judgment part 16 Arrival detection part

Claims (1)

Connection means for connecting to a plurality of communication lines;
Own station number registration means for registering the own station number corresponding to each communication line;
When a call is made to the own station number registered in the own station number registering means via the communication line and there is an incoming call corresponding to the outgoing call, the called communication line is called When it is determined that the communication line corresponds to the local telephone number, and there is no incoming call corresponding to the outgoing call, the outgoing communication line is a communication line corresponding to the outgoing local telephone number. A facsimile apparatus comprising: a local station line discriminating means for discriminating.

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