JPH02155367A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To utilize the resource of the entire information processing system effectively by setting a recording medium storing document information generated by other information processing device to a storage device, and recording and outputting the document information from the recorder of a facsimile equipment. CONSTITUTION:The operator uses other information processing unit such as a lap-top Japanese wordprocessor or personal computer to form document information DOC, sets a floppy disk 15 storing the document information DOC to a magnetic disk device 14, and when depresses a file list key of an operation display section 13, a CPU 10 of a data input unit 1 operates a magnetic disk device 14 and header information of all the document information DOC stored on the floppy disk 15 is taken out, and a file number, a file name and size of files are displayed as a list. When a file selection key is depressed down, the CPU 10 recognizes it that a file displayed on a line on which a cursor is located is selected by the operator.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a facsimile device that is equipped with an external storage device and is capable of storing and outputting document information stored in a storage medium.

[Prior Art] In recent years, small, portable, so-called laptop-type Japanese word processors and personal computers have been put into practical use, and these machines are often used to create documents while traveling or on business trips. It is used in

When recording and outputting document information created on such a laptop-type Japanese word processing device or personal computer, these devices are generally not equipped with a printing function to save weight. A dedicated printer is placed there, and when the user returns, the printer is connected to record the document.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, installing a dedicated printer in a laptop-type Japanese word processing device or personal computer is expensive and requires installation space, so it is particularly difficult for individuals to install a dedicated printer. There were problems when using it.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile device whose printing function can be used with other information processing equipment.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a storage device with a replaceable storage medium, a file search means for reading out text file data stored in a storage medium attached to the storage device, and a file search means for reading text file data stored in a storage medium attached to the storage device. A data input means for inputting text file data read by the data input means, a bitmap conversion means for converting character information constituting the text file data inputted by the data input means into corresponding image information, and a bitmap exchange means formed by the data input means. It is equipped with a recording control means for recording and outputting image information.

[Operations] Therefore, by setting a storage medium that stores document information created on a laptop-type Japanese word processing device or other information processing equipment such as a personal computer into a storage device, the document information can be transferred to a facsimile device. Since the information can be recorded and output from the recording device, the resources of the entire information processing system can be used effectively.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a facsimile machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

This facsimile machine has a data input unit 1 for reading document information from a storage medium that stores document information created by a laptop-type Japanese word processor or other information processing equipment such as a personal computer.
In addition to the normal facsimile function, there is also a facsimile unit 2 which has the function of converting the document information read by the data input unit 1 into corresponding image information and recording it.
and data input crab unit 1 to facsimile unit 2
The FIF buffer 3 constitutes a temporary storage area for transferring data.

In the data input unit 1, a CPU (central processing unit) 10 is for controlling the data input unit 1, such as document information reading processing, and a ROM.
(Read-only memory) 11 stores the processing program executed by CPU10 and various data necessary for executing the program, and RAM (Random Access Memory) 12 stores the work area of CPU10. It is for configuring.

The operation display unit 13 is used to perform various operations for inputting data into the data input unit 1, and the magnetic disk device 14 stores information on a floppy disk 15 used as a storage medium for the data input unit 1. The clock circuit 16 is used to obtain current time information.

Further, the storage area of the floppy disk 15 is divided into sectors of a predetermined length, and data storage on the floppy disk 15 is performed in units of sectors. Further, when the magnetic disk device 14 accesses the floppy disk 15, it notifies the CPU 10 of the access result.

These CPU ROM II, RAM 12, operation display section 13, magnetic disk device 14, and clock circuit 1
6 are each connected to a system bus 17, and data exchange between these elements is performed via this system bus 17.

Further, the system bus 17 and the input port of the FIFO buffer 3 are connected, and the document information data read by the data input unit 1 is input to the FIFO buffer 3.

In the facsimile unit 2, the CPU 20 is for executing control processing such as the overall operation of the facsimile unit 2, and the ROM 21 is for controlling the entire operation of the facsimile unit 2.
The RAM 22 is used to store processing programs executed by the computer and various data required when executing the programs.

This is for configuring the work area of the CPU 20.

The operation display section 23 is for operating the facsimile unit 2, the scanner 24 is for reading the original striped image at a predetermined resolution, and the plotter 25 is for reading the original striped image at a predetermined resolution.
is for recording and outputting images at a predetermined resolution, and the encoding/decoding unit 26 encodes and compresses the image signal, and also decodes the encoded and compressed image information into the original image signal. It is for the purpose of

The communication control section 27 is for carrying out predetermined facsimile transmission processing, and the modem 28 is for carrying out modulation and demodulation processing for transmitting digital data using the public telephone network, which is an analog line. The control device 29 is
This is for connecting this facsimile device to the public telephone line network. This network control device 29 also has an automatic call origination/reception function.

The font ROM 2O stores, for each character, graphic data for displaying the characters making up the document information, and the bitmap converter 31 converts the character strings making up the document information into corresponding characters. It is used to perform processing for converting into image information.

These CPU20, ROM21, RAM22. Operation display section 23. The scanner 24, plotter 25, encoding/decoding section 26, communication control section 27, font ROM 30, and bitmap conversion section 31 are each connected to a system bus 32, and data exchange between these elements is performed by this bus. This is done via system bus 32.

Also, the output port of the FIFO buffer 3 is connected to this system bus 32, so that the FIFO
The output data of the buffer 3 is input to the facsimile unit 2.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the operation display section 13 of the data entry crab knit 1.

In the figure, the liquid crystal display 13a is for displaying a list of document information stored on the floppy disk 15, and the file view key 13b is for displaying a list of document information stored on the floppy disk 15. This is for inputting a command to display a list of , and the up arrow key 13
c and the up arrow key 13d are used to move the cursor for selecting files displayed on the liquid crystal display 13a up and down, and the file selection key 13e is used to move the cursor displayed on the liquid crystal display 13a up and down. This is to specify the file where is located as the read file.

FIG. 3(a) shows the contents of document information stored on the floppy disk 15. As shown in FIG.

Documents and information DOC include text information TX that constitutes the content of each document, header information HD that is added to the beginning of this text information TX to identify each document information DOC, and header information HD that is added to the end of text information TX. It consists of a document end code ROM that indicates the end of the document information DOC.

Here, the text information Tx is composed of a character code string, a line feed code LF is added as a delimiter code for one line of display, and a line feed code CR is added at the end of one paragraph.

In addition, the header information) 10 is as shown in FIG.
It consists of a file number FN for identifying each document information DOC, a file name NM added to each document information DOC, and a file size Sz indicating the size of the text information TX.

By the way, as shown in FIGS. 4(a) and (b), the ROM
21 stores a character code start pointer table TBP which is formed by registering the start address of the area where character fonts corresponding to each character code are stored in the font ROM 30; , occupies an area consisting of a collection of 24 dots in the main scanning direction and 24 dots in the sub-scanning direction.

Therefore, the font data for one character is 1 dot.
Assuming that bit data is allocated, it consists of 192 bytes.

Further, the plotter 25 has the following characteristics as shown in FIG.

- A line buffer LB with a capacity capable of storing font data of characters for columns is provided.

This line buffer LB has 24 dots in the main scanning direction,
It has a data structure in which a data area for one character consisting of a rectangular area of 24 dots is arranged in the sub-scanning direction for the maximum number of characters forming one line from the base point of the line.

With the above configuration, an operator creates a document information DOC using another information processing device such as a laptop-type Japanese word processor or a personal computer, and sets the floppy disk 15 storing the document information DOC into the magnetic disk device 14. , the file on the operation display section 13 -
When the view key 13b is turned on, C of data entry crab unit 1 is turned on.
PU10 activates the magnetic disk device 14 to read all the document information DOC stored on the floppy disk 15.
The header information HD is taken out, and the file number FN, file name NM, and file size SZ are displayed in a list as shown in FIG.

In this state, cursor O8 is rl of file number FN.
j, indicating that the file is selected, and pressing down the down arrow key 13d once will move the cursor C8 down one step, and pressing down the up arrow key 13c once will move the cursor C8 down one step. Cursor C8 moves up one step.

Note that if the number of files stored on the floppy disk 15 is too large to be displayed on one screen of the liquid crystal display 13a, if the down arrow key 13d is pressed while the cursor C8 is on the bottom line of the display, , the display on the liquid crystal display 13a scrolls up one level, and the contents of the new file are displayed on the bottom line. Also, to scroll up and disappear from view, press the up arrow key 13d.
You can display it again by operating (scroll down).

In this way, the up arrow key 13c and the down arrow key 1
3d to move the cursor C8 to the file number FN of the file you want to record and output, and in this state press the file selection key 13e, CPU10 is displayed on the line where the cursor C8 is located at that time. Recognize that the file has been selected by the operator.

As a result, the CPU 10 of the data input unit 1 executes the process shown in FIG. 7, and sequentially transfers the data of the document information DOC specified at that time to the FIFO buffer 3.

That is, first, the magnetic disk device 14 reads data from the first sector of the floppy disk 15 that stores the text information element X of the specified document information DOC, and the data for one sector is created in the RAM 12. Store in a buffer (not shown) (process 101)
.

Then, it is checked whether the magnetic disk device 14 has notified that a sector error has occurred in the read operation at that time (decision 102), and the result of determination 102 is N.
When it becomes O, one character worth of code data is taken out from the sector buffer (process 103).

Then, it is checked whether the retrieved character code data is the document end code EOM (decision 104), and if the result of determination 104 is No, then FI
Check whether F○ buffer 3 is full (judgment 1
05).

If the result of judgment 105 is YES, wait until there is free space in FIFO buffer 3 and the result of judgment 105 becomes NO, and then save the character code data for one character extracted in FIFO buffer 3. (process 106
), it is checked whether processing of l sectors worth of data has been completed (decision 107).

When the result of judgment 107 is No, the process returns to process 103 and the same process is performed for the next character code data. When the result of judgment 107 is YES, the magnetic disk drive 14 causes the next character code data on the floppy disk 15 to be read. Process 108) to read sector data and save the read data in the sector buffer, judgment 102
Return to , and perform similar processing on that sector data.

When the processing for the text information TX is completed and the document end code EOM is detected and the result of judgment 104 is YES, the liquid crystal display 13a displays that reading of the specified document information DOC has been completed ( Processing 109)
, this process ends.

Furthermore, when the magnetic disk device 14 notifies that a sector error has occurred when reading one sector of data, and the result of judgment 102 is YES, the liquid crystal display 13a indicates that a sector error has occurred. 110), and data in the same sector is repeatedly read out and stored in the sector buffer until a predetermined number of attempts is reached (determination 111, processing 112).

If a sector error occurs even after reading the same sector data a predetermined number of times and the result of judgment 111 is YES, an error display indicating a read failure is displayed on the liquid crystal display 13a (process 113), and this read processing is continued. Terminate (abnormal termination).

In this way, the document information D specified by the operator
Text information TX of OC is read out and sequentially FIFO
Transferred to buffer 3.

On the other hand, the CPU 20 and bitmap converter 31 of the facsimile unit 2 execute the process shown in FIG.
The text information TX of the document information DOC stored in the FO buffer 3 is input, the contents of the text information TX are converted into a corresponding image, and the plotter 25 records and outputs the image.

That is, the CPU 20 checks whether the FIFO buffer 3 is in an empty state where no character code data is stored (determination 201), and determines whether the FIFO buffer 3 stores one or more character code data (determination 201). If the result is NO, take out the code data for the first character from the FIF○ buffer 3 (process 202), and check whether the code data is a line feed code CR, a line feed code LF, or
Check whether the document end code is EOM (determination 203
, 204, 205).

The code data extracted at that time is the line feed code CR
However, if neither the line feed code LF nor the document end code EQM is selected, and the result of judgment 205 is NO, the character font head pointer corresponding to that code data is obtained from the character code head pointer table TBP (process 206), The data of the character font is stored in the free area of the line buffer LB (process 207), and the process returns to judgment 201 to retrieve the next character code data.

Also, the extracted character code data is the line feed code CR
1 or line feed code LF, judgment 203
Alternatively, when the result of judgment 204 is YES, one line of character font data is stored in the line buffer LB, so the plotter 25 is commanded to start recording one line of data (process 208). Return to judgment 201.

Also, the extracted character code data is the document end code E.
If it is OM and the result of the judgment 205 is YES, it is displayed on the liquid crystal display 13a that recording of the specified document information DOC has been completed (process 209), and this process is ended.

In this way, the facsimile unit 2.

The text information TX of the document information DOC is inputted sequentially from the FIFO buffer 3, and the text is recorded and outputted line by line from the plotter.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the content of the document information DOC stored in the floppy disk 15 attached to the data input unit 1 is recorded and outputted from the plotter 25 of the facsimile unit 2, the received image is The elements for recording and outputting are shared for recording and outputting document information created with other information processing equipment such as laptop-type Japanese word processors and personal computers, making more effective use of resources. Can be done.

In addition, since the code data reading process from the floppy disk 15 and the code data bitmap conversion process are performed in separate processing units, the document information DO
The time required to record and output C becomes extremely short.

By the way, in the embodiment described above, the floppy disk 1
The document information DOC stored in the facsimile unit 2 is converted into a bit map and recorded and output from the plotter 25. It is also possible to transmit the information to

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the document information DOC consists of only simple text information TX and does not include any special format information. can be applied. However, in that case, according to the content of the format information,
Document information needs to be converted into a bitmap. Further, the present invention can also be applied when document information includes graphical information such as tables and graphs.

Note that although the above embodiment does not use a special operating system, the present invention can be similarly applied even when an operating system is used.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the character font is so-called 2
Although the font has four dots, character fonts with other numbers of dots can also be used. It is also possible to use a combination of multiple types of character fonts with different numbers of dots.

Further, in the embodiments described above, a floppy disk is used as the storage medium, but the present invention can also be applied to cases where other replaceable storage media are used.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, there is provided a storage device with a replaceable storage medium, and a file search means for reading text file data stored in a storage medium attached to the storage device. , a data input means for inputting text file data read by the file search means;
The laptop is equipped with a bitmap conversion means for converting the character information constituting the text file data inputted from the data input means into corresponding image information, and a recording control means for recording and outputting the image information formed by the pitmap conversion means. By setting a storage medium that stores document information created with a type of Japanese word processor or other information processing equipment such as a personal computer into a storage device, the document information can be recorded and output from the facsimile device's recording device. Therefore, it has the effect of effectively utilizing the resources of the entire information processing system6.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a facsimile machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an operation display section of a data entry unit, and FIG. 3(a) is an example of the format of document information. FIG. 4(b) is a schematic diagram showing an example of header information; FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are schematic diagrams showing the relationship between the character font head pointer table and the stored contents of the character font ROM; Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a line buffer, Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of display when selecting a file, Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of data input processing, and Fig. 8 is a facsimile unit processing. 3 is a flowchart showing an example. l...Data input unit, 2...Facsimile unit, 3...FIFO buffer, 10.20...
・CPU. 11.21...ROM (read only memory),
12.22...RAM (random access memory), 14...magnetic disk device, 15...floppy disk. Figure 2 (a) (b) Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] A storage device with a replaceable storage medium, a file search means for reading text file data stored in a storage medium attached to the storage device, and a data input means for inputting the text file data read by the file search means. and a bitmap conversion means for converting character information constituting the text file data inputted from the data input means into corresponding image information, and a recording control means for recording and outputting the image information formed by the bitmap exchange means. A facsimile machine characterized by: