JPH0251968A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To immediately cope with maintenance service when it is needed by preparing a notifying document described with the consumed condition of consumables to be the object of the maintenance service, converting it into image information, and automatically transmitting it to a destination terminal designated beforehand. CONSTITUTION:When a first consumed condition detecting part 16 detects that a fluorescent lamp, etc., requires the maintenance service, and a second consumed condition detecting part 17 detects that a recording paper, a toner, a drum, etc., require the maintenance service, the facts are notified to a main control part 11. Based on a consumed condition recognizing result notified from the main control part 11, and respective data such as self-station data, destination data and a consumable list inputted from a setting memory part 18, a notifying document preparing part 19 prepares the documents to notify which consumable has been consumed to a designated destination terminal in a prescribed formed. Further, the main control part 11 transmits it to facsimile equipment 2 of a maintenance service center. Thus, the maintenance service center can present the timely maintenance service.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention provides a facsimile machine having a y3 function that automatically notifies a pre-designated destination such as a maintenance service company of the wear status of consumables. Regarding.

(Prior Art) In conventional facsimile machines, there are two methods for dealing with so-called maintenance services such as replacing consumables.

One method is for a user to enter into a maintenance contract with a maintenance service company, and based on this maintenance contract, a service person periodically visits the user and performs maintenance work.

The other method is for the user to monitor the consumption status of the consumables of the facsimile machine, and if necessary, the user requests maintenance by telephone etc. to a maintenance service company, and the service company dispatches a service person each time. This is the way to respond to that request.

However, with the former method, the frequency of use of the facsimile machine L owned by the user varies, and the timing of the service person's visit is not necessarily the time when maintenance service is required. With such a maintenance service system, it was inevitable that waste would occur.

On the other hand, with the method on the right, a service person is dispatched each time it is needed, which eliminates this type of waste, but it also places a burden on the user in determining the state of wear and contacting the maintenance service company. When a service person is not available for a large or even sudden call, the maintenance service company may not be able to respond immediately to the maintenance request due to circumstances.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) In this way, the above conventional facsimile if? ! In this case, maintenance work was carried out either by having service personnel visit users regularly based on the maintenance contract, or by dispatching service personnel whenever a user contacted them to request maintenance. However, there are problems in that a regular maintenance service system is wasteful, and an as-needed maintenance service system places a heavy burden on users and lacks immediate response.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and provides a facsimile machine that can immediately respond to maintenance service when it is required, and that requires less burden on the user in determining the state of wear and tear. The purpose is to provide.

(Structure of the Invention) (Means for Solving the Problems) The facsimile apparatus of the present invention includes a storage means for storing various data that can be registered in advance, including at least "J:A number data, destination data, and a consumables list." and a consumption status detection means for detecting the consumption status of the consumables, and reading necessary data from the storage means according to the detection result of the consumption status detection means, and determining which consumables have been consumed in which source terminal. a notification expenditure creation means for creating a document to be notified to a designated destination terminal; and after the notification expenditure creation means creates a document, the notification expenditure creation means sends the document to a pre-designated destination terminal based on the destination data stored in the storage means. The apparatus is configured to include transmission system uII means for automatically making an optical call and converting the document from the document creation means into image information and transmitting the image information.

(Function) In the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, when the wear status of consumables reaches a state that requires maintenance service, this maintenance service is performed. A notification N containing information on the wear status of consumables is created, converted into image information, and then automatically transmitted to a destination terminal specified in advance.

For this reason, if a facsimile machine of a maintenance service company is registered as the destination terminal, for example, the wear status will be automatically notified to the maintenance service company in writing without the user having to pay attention to the wear status. By setting the user's device to detect the wear and tear of consumables at a relatively light stage, maintenance service companies can dispatch service personnel with plenty of time each time a user needs maintenance service. can be dispatched.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, a facsimile machine 1 according to an embodiment of the woodworking industry includes a scanner section 10, a main control section 11,
It is equipped with a transmission section 12, a printer section 13, a display section 14, a key human power section 15, a first wear condition detection section 16, a second wear condition detection section 17, a setting memory section 18, and a notification message creation section 19. It is configured.

Further, this facsimile machine 1 is included in the overall system configuration, and is connected to a facsimile machine 2 at a maintenance service center via an exchange 3 provided by a communication carrier, as shown in FIG.

In this facsimile II [1, the scanner section 1
The image signal of the original that is read and scanned at 0 is 1 system (company) part 11
The data is transmitted from the transmission unit 12 to the other party's terminal through the control of (1).

Further, the image signal arriving at the transmission section 12 at the time of reception is transferred to the printer section 13 under the control of the main control section 11, and is recorded and ejected as a received original.

The operating status regarding this transmission and reception is displayed on the display unit 14 under the control of the main control unit 11 each time.

Further, commands for starting each operation at this time are input to the main control section 11 by the operator operating a predetermined key on the key manual section 15.

By the way, various consumables are used in each part of this facsimile machine 1.

For example, the fluorescent lamp used in the scanner section 10 has the property of becoming weaker depending on the number of times the document is read, and requires maintenance work such as replacement after a certain number of readings.

Further, in the case where the facsimile apparatus 1 uses, for example, an LBP (laser beam printer) as the printer section 13, the toner or the drum as well as the ordinary recording paper correspond to the consumables.

As is well known, toner plays the role of ink when recording on regular recording paper, and it decreases depending on the number of sheets recorded.
Regular replenishment is required.

In addition, the drum used to print this toner onto regular recording paper becomes more and more dirty as it is used, which deteriorates the recording quality, so measures such as replacing it after a certain number of uses are taken. There must be.

In order to detect the wear status of this type of consumables and provide prompt maintenance services, the facsimile apparatus 1 of the present invention includes a first wear status detection unit 16 and a second wear status detection unit 16 in the scanner unit 10 and the printer unit 13, respectively. It has a wear condition detection section 17.

These first consumption condition detection section 16 and second consumption condition detection section 17 detect each consumable item (
Regarding 16, we monitor the consumption status of fluorescent lamps, etc., and regarding 17, we monitor the consumption status of recording paper, toner, drums, etc.), and when we detect that the consumption status has reached a level that requires maintenance service, we will inform you of this. are notified to the main control unit 11 using predetermined status information through the scanner unit 10 and printer unit 13, respectively.

Based on this notification, the main control unit 11 can recognize which consumables have been consumed or are running low each time.

It is assumed that the main control unit 11 has now recognized that one of the consumables has been consumed to the extent that maintenance work is required.

Based on this Qg, the main control section 11 controls the setting memory section 1.
Necessary data such as own station data, destination data, consumables list, etc. are read out from 8 and transferred to the notification document creation section 19.

Here, each persimmon data such as the own station data, destination data, consumables list, etc. is registered in advance in the setting memory section 18 by manual key operations in the key manual section 15 by the operator.

Next, the notification document creation gB'19 determines which terminal to use based on the wear status recognition result notified from the main control unit 11 and each data such as own station data, destination data, and consumables list input from the setting memory unit 18. Documentation in a predetermined format is used to notify a designated destination terminal whether consumables have been consumed.

After the notification expenditure is created in this way, the main control unit 11 reads the destination data from the setting memory unit 18, and based on the destination data, calls, for example, the facsimile machine 2 of the maintenance service center specified in advance. .

After the line is established, the notification document created by the notification document creation section 19 is further converted into image information, and this is transmitted to the facsimile machine 2 through the exchange 3 (see FIG. 2).

As a result, the maintenance service center obtains a consumables notification list as shown in FIG. 3 in the white skin facsimile machine 2 in response to the above-mentioned notification document.

In other words, according to the example shown in Fig. 3, the consumables notification list includes the name of the maintenance service company as the destination, the address, company name, and contact information of the user requesting maintenance, as well as messages for requesting maintenance and maintenance. The list of consumables required is recorded as one Bunji.

What is the contents of this consumables notification list? By doing this, the maintenance service center can prepare replacement items necessary for maintenance, and then mail the replacement items to the relevant user or dispatch a service person.

When carrying out such maintenance services, the above-mentioned notification document is automatically transmitted when the consumables are worn out, so the user can always operate the facsimile machine in the best condition without being aware of the wear status of the consumables. On the other hand, the maintenance service center can also provide maintenance services in a timely manner upon receiving the notification document.

At this time, the user should set the operating conditions of the first wear condition detection section 16 and the second wear condition detection section 17 so that the wear of the consumables is detected while the degree of wear is relatively light. For example, the maintenance service center can respond with a certain degree of leeway when receiving the consumables notification list, and it no longer happens that a service person cannot be dispatched immediately due to a sudden request for maintenance service, as was the case in the past.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the facsimile device of the present invention, when the wear status of consumables has progressed beyond a certain level, a notification document for the purpose of requesting maintenance is created, and this document is automatically sent as image information to a pre-specified destination. By registering the maintenance service center's terminal at the above address, the user can always operate the equipment in the best condition without having to be aware of the wear status, and the service company It has the excellent advantage of being able to provide efficient maintenance services to users immediately when needed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a facsimile device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the entire system including the facsimile device of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the entire system including the facsimile device of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a receipt record of notification expenditures. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Facsimile machine, 2...Facsimile machine of maintenance service center, 3...Replacement, 10...Scanner section, 11...Main control section, 12...Transmission section, 1
3... Printer section, 14... Display section, 15... Key human power section, 16... First wear condition detection section, 17...
-Second wear condition detection section, 18...setting memory section, 1
9... Notification document creation department Figure 1 @ Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Storage means for storing various types of data that can be registered in advance, including at least transmission source data, destination data, and a list of consumable supplies; Consumption status detection means for detecting the consumption status of consumable supplies; and the consumption status. notification document creation means for reading necessary data from the storage means according to the detection result of the detection means and creating a document for notifying a designated destination terminal of which consumables have been consumed in which source terminal; , After creating the document by the notification document creation means, automatically calls a destination terminal designated in advance based on the destination data stored in the storage means, and converts the document from the document creation means into image information. 1. A facsimile device comprising a transmission control means for transmitting data.