JPH04302576A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always know an accumulated rate charged to an individual terminal within an optional period by printing out the accumulated rate charged for an optional specified period on a specified date. CONSTITUTION:This facsimile(FAX) equipment is provided with a CPU 11 for controlling the whole device 10, a RAM 13 for storing the work area of a ROM for storing a control program and an accumulated rate, an image reading part 14 for reading out a transmitting image, an image printing means 15 for printing out a received image and the accumulated rate, an image communication part 16 for executing processing such as the compression and expansion of an image at the time of transmitting/receiving the image, a call control part 17 for controlling originating and terminating protocols, a CCU 18 for controlling communication with the external, and an operation panel 19 having a keyboard and a displaying LCD. Since the accumulated rate of each terminal connected to a line terminal equipment for an optional specified period is stored and printed out at an optional specified date, the data of the accumulated rate can be checked on occasion.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine connected to an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network).

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In conventional facsimile machines connected to public line networks, billing information is not sent after the end of communication. Furthermore, even in the case of a facsimile machine connected to an ISDN, billing information for the line termination device is only sent after each communication is completed.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, with conventional facsimile machines connected to public line networks, the line usage status is not known until usage details are sent from the company providing the line network service. Ta.

[0004] Furthermore, even in the case of a conventional facsimile machine connected to an ISDN, billing information is sent after each communication is completed, but multiple terminals are connected to one line termination device, and each terminal It was not possible to determine the usage status of each device, whether it was used individually or within an organization.

[0005] Furthermore, when it is desired to bill a particular destination for the expenses required for communication, there is a problem in that the billing expenses cannot be calculated unless the entire communication history is investigated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and provides a facsimile machine that allows the cumulative charges charged to individual terminals within an arbitrarily designated period to be confirmed by printing them at an arbitrarily designated date and time. The primary purpose is to provide the following.

[0007] A second object is to provide a facsimile device that allows the user to print and check the accumulated charges incurred to an arbitrarily specified destination within an arbitrarily specified period at an arbitrarily specified date and time. do.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above first object, the first aspect of the present invention is to provide a facsimile machine connected to an ISDN for an arbitrary specified period of time for each terminal connected to a line termination device. The present invention is characterized in that it comprises a storage means for storing cumulative charges, and a printing means for printing the cumulative charges stored in the storage means at an arbitrarily specified date and time.

[0009] In order to achieve the above second object, the second aspect of the present invention is to provide a facsimile device connected to an ISDN, storage means for storing accumulated charges for an arbitrarily designated period for each arbitrarily designated destination; The present invention is characterized by comprising a printing means for printing the cumulative charge stored in the storage means at an arbitrarily specified date and time.

0010

[Operation] The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention stores cumulative charges for an arbitrarily designated period for each terminal connected to a line termination device in a storage means, and stores the stored cumulative charges at an arbitrarily designated date and time. By printing with the printing means, the accumulated charge can be confirmed when necessary.

Further, the facsimile apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention stores cumulative charges for an arbitrarily designated period for each arbitrarily designated destination in the storage means, and prints the stored cumulative charges by the printing means at an arbitrarily designated date and time. By doing so, you can check the accumulated charges when necessary.

0012

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the concept of communication using ISDN. In the figure, 1 is a first line termination device, which communicates with a second line termination device 2 via ISDN 3. It has become. A plurality of terminals 4, 5, and 6 are connected to the first line termination device 1, and a plurality of terminals 7, 8, and 9 are connected to the second line termination device 2, respectively.

[0014] The number of the first line terminal device 1 is 01111.
111, the subaddress of terminal 4 is 1001, the subaddress of terminal 5 is 1002, the subaddress of terminal 6 is 100
It is 3. Also, the number of the second line terminal device 2 is 02222222, the subaddress of the terminal 7 is 2001,
The subaddress of terminal 8 is 2002, and the subaddress of terminal 9 is 2003.

Here, the terminal 5 on the first line termination device 1 side
When transmitting an image to the terminal 9 on the second line termination device 2 side, the originating subaddress of the ISDN 3 call setup message is 1002, the called number is 02222222, and the called subaddress is 2003. In this case, the sender can be uniquely identified as terminal 5 by the calling subaddress 1002, and the destination is the called number 02222222 and the called subaddress 2.
003 allows unique identification of the terminal 9.

FIG. 2 is a block configuration diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.
11, a ROM 12 for storing a control program to be executed based on the flowchart of FIG. An image reading section 14, an image printing section (printing means) 15 that prints received images and accumulated charges, an image communication section 16 that performs processing such as compression and expansion of images when transmitting and receiving images, and a call originating and incoming call section. A call control unit 17 that controls the time protocol
and C that controls communication between the facsimile device 10 and the outside.
It is composed of a CU 18, an operation panel 19 having a keyboard for performing various inputs and an LCD for display, and a timer 20 for reading the current date and time. The CCU 18 is connected to the ISDN 3 line 21.

Next, the operation of the facsimile machine 10 of the present invention having the above configuration will be explained using the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, in step 1, it is determined from the operation panel 19 whether or not there is a request to register the sender and destination for which cumulative charges are to be recorded. Determine whether it is registered or not. If it is a transmission source registration, a transmission registration process is performed in step 3, and then the process proceeds to the next step 4. Also, if the sender is not registered in step 2, step 4 is executed without executing step 3.
Then, it is determined whether the content of the registration request in step 1 is destination registration. If it is destination registration, destination registration processing is performed in step 5, and the present processing operation ends.

Further, in step 4, if the destination is not registered, the present processing operation is ended without executing step 5.

Note that the transmission source and transmission destination are stored in a table format shown in FIG. The sending source is stored in the form of a sending source table 22, and includes three fields 23, 24, and 25 for storing the calling subaddress, identification label, and accumulated charge corresponding to the sending source, respectively.

[0021] Further, the destination is stored in the format of a destination table 26, and the destination number, destination sub-address, and
It has four fields 27, 28, 29, and 30 for storing identification labels and cumulative charges, respectively. The present embodiment also includes a field 31 for storing the total accumulated charges for the line terminal devices 1 and 2, and a field 32 for storing the date on which recording of accumulated charges started.

Next, in step 1 of FIG. 3, if there is no request to register the sender and destination, the process proceeds to step 6, where it is determined from the operation panel 19 whether or not there is a request to print cumulative charges. If there is a print request, proceed to the next step 7.
Print the cumulative charge and proceed to step 8.

In step 8, it is determined from the operation panel 19 whether the record of accumulated charges to date is to be erased or to continue to be accumulated. If deletion is specified, the cumulative charge record start date is set to the current date (step 9), the total cumulative charge is set to 0 (step 10), and further,
After each accumulated charge is set to 0 (step 11), this processing operation is ended. Also, if it is not deleted in step 8,
This processing operation ends without executing each step 9 to 11.

[0024] Next, in step 6, if there is no request to print the cumulative charge, the process proceeds to step 12, where it is determined whether or not a call has been made. When a call is made, the calling sub-address in the call setup message is temporarily stored in the work area of the RAM 13 (step 13), the called party number and the called sub-address are temporarily stored in the work area of the RAM 13 (step 14), A calling procedure is performed (step 15), an image is transmitted (step 16), and when the transmission is completed, a disconnection procedure is performed to disconnect the line (step 17).

Next, in step 18, it is determined whether or not a bill has been received (step 18), and step 18 is executed until the bill is received. If received, charge to RAM
13 (step 19). And R
The charge stored in step 19 is added to the total cumulative charge 30 (see FIG. 4) stored in the AM 13 (step 20).

Next, the originating subaddress stored in step 13 is stored in the field 23 of the source table 22 in FIG.
(Step 21). If it is registered, the charge stored in Step 19 is added to the corresponding cumulative charge field 25 (Step 22).

Next, it is determined whether the called party number and subaddress stored in step 14 are registered in the fields 27 and 28 of the destination table 26 in FIG.
Step 23). If it has been registered, the charge stored in step 19 is added to the corresponding cumulative charge field 30 (step 24), and the present processing operation is ended.

[0028] Furthermore, if it is not registered in step 21, the process moves to step 23 without executing step 22, and furthermore, if it is not registered in step 23,
This processing operation ends without executing step 24.

In this way, the administrator of the line terminating devices 1 and 2 can record the charges incurred for each terminal 4 to 9 and each destination, and the line terminating device, as shown in the print example shown in FIG. 1,
The total amount charged for 2 can be printed and withdrawn when necessary.

[0030] In the above embodiment, the user requests printing of cumulative charges when necessary, but it is also possible to print cumulative charges automatically after each communication ends, print date and time of printing, or record cumulative charges. You may also specify a period and automatically print at the specified date and time.

Furthermore, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the cumulative charges for each source and each destination are printed in a table format, but it is also possible to represent the cumulative charges graphically like a histogram, or to sort them in descending order of cumulative charges. By printing it out, it is also possible to understand the usage status of each sender and destination at a glance.

[0032]

As explained above, according to the facsimile machine of claim 1 of the present invention, when a plurality of terminals are connected to a line termination device, cumulative charges incurred for each terminal within an arbitrary period can be reduced. You can print it out and know it anytime.

Furthermore, according to the facsimile apparatus of claim 2 of the present invention, when it is desired to bill the destination of an image for the necessary expenses incurred within a given period, the accumulated charges for each destination can be printed out at any time. You can know.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the concept of communication using ISDN.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the facsimile machine of FIG. 2;

4 is a conceptual diagram showing an area on the RAM 13 for storing necessary information in the facsimile machine of FIG. 2; FIG.

5 is a diagram illustrating a printing example when billing information is printed in the facsimile machine of FIG. 2; FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 First line termination device 2 Second line termination device 3 ISDN 4 Terminal 5 Terminal 6 Terminal 7 Terminal 8 Terminal 9 Terminal 10 Facsimile machine 13 RAM (storage means) 15 Image printing section (printing means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] [Claim 1] In a facsimile machine connected to an ISDN, a storage means for storing accumulated charges for an arbitrarily specified period for each terminal connected to a line termination device, and a storage means for storing cumulative charges for an arbitrarily specified period at an arbitrarily specified date and time. A facsimile apparatus comprising: printing means for printing the cumulative charge. 2. A facsimile device connected to an ISDN, comprising a storage means for storing accumulated charges for an arbitrarily specified period for each arbitrarily specified destination, and printing the accumulated charges stored in the storage means at an arbitrarily specified date and time. A facsimile device comprising: printing means.