JPH04114550A - Communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize more inexpensive communication by displaying a line only when the line more inexpensive than LCR control can be selected at an operation mode prohibiting the line selection operation of an LCR control means. CONSTITUTION:Even in the invalidating mode of LCR control as in a conventionally way, the substitution and dialing of the telephone number of the LCR control part 14 is prohibited and the selected result of the LCR control part 14 is fed back on the side of a facsimile equipment, whereby it can be displayed in a display part 13. Thus, a user can learn the possibility of more inexpensive line selection. Even if the invalidating mode of LCR control is erroneously selected by misoperation, LCR control can effectively be used and more inexpensive communication can be realized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a communication device, and particularly to a communication device having an LCR control means for selecting the cheapest line in accordance with communication conditions and making a call.

[Prior Art] Communication devices that include an LCR (Least Cost Routing) device either externally or built-in have been known.

When a call is made, the LCR device generates a selection signal corresponding to the most cost-effective line from among the Wl number of communication lines that can be connected to the other party based on communication conditions such as communication time and communication time, and selects the joining line. LCR1+111 by sending to
Do this.

Some conventional communication devices with LCR have an operation mode in which the LCR control is disabled and the input telephone number is used as is to make a call.

This operation mode is selected by manual operation from the operation panel.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention 1] However, in the conventional mode for disabling LCR control, all LCR control is disabled, and even if there is room to choose a cheaper line, the user is made aware of this. I couldn't even do that.

Therefore, for example, if a mode in which LCR control is disabled is selected due to an erroneous operation or the like, there is a possibility that the user may continue to communicate by paying high line costs against his/her will.

In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an LCR control method that can notify the user that there is room for selecting a cheaper line even in the LCR control disabled mode.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, the L
In a communication device having a CR control means, in an operation mode in which the line selection operation of the LCR control means is prohibited, the LC
In the R control, a configuration is adopted in which a control means is provided for displaying and outputting a line only when a cheaper line can be selected.

[Operation] According to the above configuration, even in the LCR control invalidation mode, there is an excellent effect that the possibility of selecting a cheaper line can be notified to the user.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile machine employing the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a facsimile machine employing the present invention, in which reference numeral 1 denotes a CPU that controls the operation of the entire machine, and is composed of a microprocessor element and the like.

Each storage means necessary for control and each section subject to control, which will be described later, are connected to the CPUI via data and address buses.

The ROM 2 is used to store programs and constants necessary for control, which will be described later, and the RAM 3 is used as a work area for the CPUI, and for storage of transmitted and received image data.

A non-volatile RAM 4 made of SRAM or the like is used to register telephone numbers, abbreviations, etc. of communication partner stations. non-volatile RA
M4 is backed up by a backup power source (not shown) so that stored data is reliably retained even when the power is cut off. Data in the nonvolatile RAMJ is used for speed dial control and other controls.

The character generator 5 is for converting information expressed in character codes into binary image data.

Character generator 5 actually uses JIS code,
It consists of a ROM that stores characters such as ASCII codes, and extracts character data corresponding to a predetermined code using 2-byte data as necessary under the control of the CPU.

Reading of document image data is performed by a reading section 7 comprising a CCD sensor, a document conveyance system, and the like. Further, the received image data or the image data read by the reading section 7 during the copying operation is recorded by the recording section 6, which is constituted by a thermal printer, an inkjet printer, or the like.

Transmission and reception of image data to and from the line 10 is performed via a modem 8 that modulates and demodulates image signals and procedure signals, and an NCU 9 that controls line connection or maintains a loop with a telephone for line control.

The modem 8 has G3, G2, G1 . It consists of an FM modem and a clock generation circuit connected to these modems.
It modulates the transmission data stored in the RAM 3 under the control of CP[J 1 and outputs it to the line IO via the NCU 9. Furthermore, the modem 8 introduces the analog signal of the line IO via the NCU 9, modulates it, and stores the binarized data in the RAM 3.

Note that the telephone 11 is a telephone integrated with a facsimile device, and a dial operation section is integrated as an operation section 12. Specifically, the telephone 11 includes a handset, a speech network, a dialer, a numeric keypad or one-touch keys, and the like.

The communication operation is controlled by the CPU 1 according to the operation input from the operation unit 12. The operation unit 12 includes keys for starting image transmission/reception, etc., and fine, standard, and key keys for transmitting and receiving images.
It consists of a mode selection key for specifying operation modes such as automatic reception, and a numeric keypad for dialing. Note that the CPU detects the pressed states of these keys, and performs Iff @ on each of the above sections according to the pressed states.

The display unit 13 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel that displays about 16 digits, and is used to display the current time and operating status using characters or the like under the control of the CPU 1.

The L(Rlllfll section I4 is a section that selects the cheapest line, and is built into or externally attached to the facsimile machine. An internal block diagram of the L CRII+ control section 14 is shown in FIG. 2.

The switches 15p and 15q are composed of relays, etc.
This is for connecting a telephone line to the LCR control section 14. The transformer 16 is an isolation transformer for closing the DC loop. Further, 17 is a DTMF decoder, 18 is a switch, and the DTMF decoder 17j5 and switch 18 are connected to the NCU 9 to the exchange 2 via the transformer I6.
It can be connected to the 0 open line. The switches 15p and 15q are controlled by the CPUI (Fig. 1) or the 1-chip CPU. A control table for selecting the cheapest line is stored.

When switches 15p and 15q are switched to the a side, transformer 16, and therefore DTMF decoder 178 and switch 18 are disconnected. This switching state corresponds to the conventional LCR control disabling mode, that is, the LCR control circuit 1
This mode is selected to disable all functions of 4.

Further, in the standby state, the switch 15p is switched to the a side, and the switch 15q is switched to the b side, so that the N
The telephone number input from the CU 9gIl is input to the DTMF decoder 17 via the transformer 16, and the telephone number of the other party is taken into the 1-chip CPU 19. In this embodiment, in the LCR control invalidation mode, this switching state The line selection result of the LCR control unit 14 is sent to the CPU.
Take it into the l side.

On the other hand, in the mode where LCR control is enabled, one chip C
The PU 19 refers to the control table in the built-in ROM, generates telephone number data corresponding to the cheapest route, and inputs this data to the switch 18 . switch 1
When the dial signal of 8 is generated, the switch 15p is set to the b side.
5g is switched to a@, and the replaced dial signal is transmitted to the exchange 20.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. FIG. 3 shows an outline of control during communication. In the LCR control enabled mode, call control is performed as described above.

On the other hand, in the mode in which the LCR control is disabled, when one call is made using the procedure shown in FIG. It is assumed that communication time information is input to the CPU 19. This communication time depends on, for example, the amount of data stored in RAM3.
This is the predicted communication time calculated by the CPU 1. This predicted communication time data can be obtained by executing step Sl below.
1 chip CPUI from CPUI using DTMF signal
It is also possible to use manual labor on the 9th side.

In step S1, switch 15p is switched to a911, switch 15q is switched to b side, and in step s2, CPU l is manually operated by the user using a numeric keypad, one-touch key, etc. of operation unit 12 using a known switch (not shown). Direct phone number to DTM via transformer 16
The signal is input to the F decoder 17.

In step S3, the 1-chip CPU 19 selects a line as in the previous 2 LCR activation modes, and selects the selected 1!
The call number is converted into a DTMF signal by switch 1B and input to the facsimile machine via switch 15q.

In step S4, the CPUI takes in the selection result of the LCRIlli unit 14 using a decoder (not shown) similar to the DTMF decoder 17 provided in the facsimile machine, and the CPUI reads the telephone number data sent out in step s2 and the LCR read in in step s3. Telephone number data reflecting the line selection results of the control unit 14 are compared.

In the comparison in step S4, if the telephone number data sent in step S2 and the telephone number data reflecting the line selection result of the LCR control unit 14 imported in step S3 are not different, the process advances to step S7, and the switch 1
5p and q are switched to the a side, and then in step S8 dialing similar to step S2 is performed again.

On the other hand, if the line selection result of the LCR control section 14 is different from the input at step S2 in step S4, the process proceeds to step S5, and this fact is displayed on the display section 13 to notify the user. For example, in this display, a character string such as ``I have a cheap line available, are you sure?'' is used, and if necessary, a telephone number imported from the LCR control unit 14 is also displayed.

In step S6, a user's instruction is awaited. This user's instruction indicates at least whether to use the telephone number input in step S2 as is. If there is an instruction to use the telephone number input in step S2 without LCR control, the process advances to step S7.

Furthermore, in step S6, if the telephone number entered manually in step S2 is not used, several options are possible. For example, an operation to input a new telephone number, or an operation to select or edit this number when the telephone number imported from the LCR control unit 14 side is displayed in step S5 is possible. or all of these operations can be accepted. In step S6, if the telephone number input in step S2 is not to be used, the process moves to step S9, and dialing is performed according to the user's instructions.

Note that the process in step S6 may be executed only for a predetermined period of time, and if there is no instruction for a predetermined period of time, the process may proceed to step S7, since in the case of a facsimile device, the device may be unattended.

According to the embodiments described above, even in the LCR control disabling mode as in the past, only telephone number replacement and dialing of the LCR control unit 14 is prohibited, and the LCR control unit 14
The selection results are fed back to the facsimile machine,
Since the display can be displayed, the user can know the possibility of selecting a cheaper line even in the LCR control disabled mode, and even if the LCR control disabled mode is mistakenly selected due to an operation error, etc. This has the excellent effect of making effective use of LCR control and enabling cheaper communication.

Although a facsimile machine has been described above as an example, a similar configuration can be implemented in other data communication devices. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the above control can be performed not only when transmitting data but also when receiving data.

Note that in the above, LCR control is disabled in the LCR control invalidation mode.
Although an example has been shown in which when a cheaper line is selected in the control unit 14, the display and waiting for the user's instruction are performed, but it is also possible to perform only the display without waiting for the user's instruction.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, in a communication device having an LCR control means that selects the cheapest line according to communication conditions and makes a call, the line selection of the LCR control means In the operation mode in which operation is prohibited, a configuration is adopted in which a control means is provided that displays and outputs a line only when a cheaper line can be selected in LCR control, so even in the LCR control disable mode, It is possible to know the possibility of selecting a cheaper line, and even if LCR control disabling mode is accidentally selected due to an operation error, LCR control can be effectively used, which is an excellent feature that enables cheaper communication. effective.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communication device adopting the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the LCR shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the communication control procedure according to the present invention. be. 1-CPU 2-...ROM3...RAM
4...Nonvolatile memory 5...Character generator 6--Recording section 7--Reading section 8...Modem 9-...NCU IO...Line 11...
Telephone 12...-Operation unit 13--Display unit
14-・LCR control section 15・-switch 16-...
Transformer 17--DTMF decoder 18--Dialer 19--L chip CPU 20--Switching machine

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) In a communication device having an LCR control means that selects the cheapest line according to communication conditions and makes a call, in an operation mode in which line selection operation of the LCR control means is prohibited, the LCR control 1. A communication device comprising a control means for displaying and outputting a line only when a cheaper line can be selected.