JPH05176081A - Data communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To transmit management information in a time zone when the frequency of communication is minimum. CONSTITUTION:A control means 3 stores the prescribed management information necessary for managing a facsimile 1, and the record of the communication of the facsimile 1 in a memory 4. A detecting part 6 refers to the management information, calculates a predicted transmitting time (t)a from the information amounts of the management information, searches the time zone when the using frequency is minimum from the communication record, selects the time zone without any transmission reservation from among the time zone, and decides the transmission start time of the management information, when a condition for transmitting the management information is fulfilled. When the communication with an outside device 20 is started, and a prescribed time passes, a line control part 7 temporarily disconnects the line, and then connects it again so that the communication of reception information which is not transmitted can be resumed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention communicates with an external device connected by a line and transmits management information or image information collected to the external device, or based on data transmitted from the external device. The present invention relates to a data communication device that changes data stored therein.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for the purpose of managing an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine from a remote place, an image forming apparatus and a computer system or a facsimile apparatus as an external apparatus for managing the image forming apparatus are provided. Connected via a communication line, various management information from the image forming apparatus, that is, error information such as the location and number of occurrences of paper jams and the presence or absence of component failures,
Alternatively, information about the number of copies for each developing color is transmitted as information for billing (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-259662).

[0003] In this case, the usage status of the device, such as information on the number of copies in the case of a rental or leased copying machine, is indicated, and is mainly used for billing information and mainly for the service of the device. The information used for this purpose is generically called management information. Therefore, the management information includes the machine information indicating the mechanical state of the device including the error information. Information obtained by reading a document image or image data created by a CAD system or the like is referred to as image information.

In addition, an external copying machine, such as an electronic copying machine or a facsimile machine, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-259662, is installed inside or outside and has a communication means and is connected to an external device connected by a public line or a dedicated line. A device for exchanging machine information, management information, image information and / or other information between them is called a data communication device.

[0005]

However, in the data communication device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-259662, the transmission time of the management information is fixed in advance, so that it is set according to changes in the usage status of data communication. When the frequency of use of data communication at the specified transmission time becomes high, it may be impossible to send the management data even though it needs to be sent, or the contents of the transmission may be incomplete and management may be hindered. there were.

Further, since the line is occupied while the data is being transmitted to the management device of the data communication device which is one of the external devices, the line is occupied with another data communication device which is one of the external devices. However, there is a problem that the communication cannot be performed until the communication with the management device is completed. This is remarkable in the following cases. That is, assuming that a facsimile device as a data communication device to be managed is connected to a management device as an external device via a public telephone line, the management device is specified in such a management system. There is a case where the facsimile machine is requested to transmit a program for controlling the operation of the facsimile machine, and in that case, the transmission time becomes long. Therefore, the line is not connected even when data is transmitted from the other facsimile device to the facsimile device during the transmission of the program, and the line cannot be connected until the transmission of the program is completed. It is a thing.

The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to correctly transmit management information,
An object of the present invention is to provide a data communication device capable of performing line connection with another external device on the way even when it takes a long time to transmit image information and / or other information to the external device. To do.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the data communication apparatus of the first invention is a data communication apparatus for transmitting predetermined information such as management information to an external apparatus. Storage means for storing data relating to the execution status of the communication, and a time zone in which the utilization rate of the communication is low is detected based on the data relating to the execution status of the past communication stored in the storage means, and the predetermined period is applied to the time zone A detection unit that allocates the transmission time of the information, and the predetermined information is externally transmitted at the transmission time that the detection unit allocates when the use of the data communication device reaches a predetermined determination criterion that defines the transmission condition of the predetermined information. And a control means for transmitting to the device.

The data communication apparatus of the second invention is a data communication apparatus for communicating management information, image information and / or other information with an external device, when a predetermined time has elapsed after the communication with the external device is started. When the line is disconnected, the contact identification information of the communication at that time and the information for communicating the untransmitted / received information at the time of reconnection of the line are stored, and after the line is disconnected, the condition of the line reconnection is satisfied. And a line control means for reconnecting the line to the external device and communicating untransmitted data based on the stored communication partner identification information and information for communicating the untransmitted and received information. To do.

[0010]

The operation of the data communication apparatus of the first invention is as follows. The data communication device of the first invention transmits predetermined information such as management information to at least an external device, and includes a storage unit, a detection unit, and a control unit. Data relating to the execution status of past communication with the external device is stored in the storage means, and the detection unit obtains a time zone in which the communication utilization rate is low based on the data stored in the storage means, and the time zone Is assigned a transmission time of predetermined information. Then, when the use of the data communication device is a predetermined determination criterion, for example, when the data communication device is a copying machine, the number of copies reaches a predetermined number, the control means notifies the external device to the above The predetermined information is transmitted at the transmission time assigned by the detection unit. As a result, the predetermined information such as the management information is always transmitted during the time when the communication usage rate is low even if the communication usage situation changes, so that the management information can be correctly transmitted without any trouble.

The operation of the data communication apparatus of the second invention is as follows. The data communication apparatus of the second invention is for communicating management information, image information and / or other information with an external apparatus, and is provided with a line control means. The line control means disconnects the line once a predetermined time has elapsed after the start of communication with the external device. At this time, the line control means stores the communication partner identification information of the communication and the information for communicating the untransmitted / received information when the line is reconnected. Then, this line control means is used when the condition for line reconnection is satisfied after the line is disconnected, for example, when there is no communication with another external device within a predetermined time after the line is disconnected. Connects the line with the external device again, and communicates untransmitted data based on the stored communication partner identification information and information for communicating the untransmitted / received information. As a result, even if the transmission of management information and the like takes a long time, the line with the external device is disconnected every predetermined time, so that data can be exchanged with other external devices during the disconnection. Can communicate with each other.

[0012]

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a data communication device incorporated in a facsimile device as a managed device and an external device connected to the data communication device by a line. In FIG. 1, the data communication device 2 is built in the facsimile device 1 and includes a control means 3, a memory 4, a timer 5, a detection part 6, a line control part 7, and a modulator / demodulator 8. The configuration of the facsimile machine 1 is well known and will not be described.

The control means 3 is mainly composed of a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, is composed of a computer and its peripheral circuits, and operates according to a program written in the memory 4. Memory 4 is ROM, RAM
And a work area of the control means 3 in the RAM,
Areas for storing various information such as management information of the facsimile apparatus 1, image information, destination identification information at the time of line disconnection, address information of data transmitted by the time of line disconnection, and the like are provided. Here, it is assumed that the control information of the facsimile machine 1 is received by the control means 3 communicating with the main control means (not shown) of the facsimile machine 1 and the information is written in the memory 4. The storage format of the management information, image information, and other information is arbitrary.

The timer 5 measures the time required for the processing performed by the control means 3, the detection section 6, the line control section 7 and the like. For example, when transmitting the management information to an external device, a predetermined value will be described later. When the time comes, the control means 3 is interrupted to indicate the start of transmission. As a result, the control unit 3 recognizes the arrival of the transmission time and instructs the line control unit 7 to transmit the management information. Both the detection unit 6 and the line control unit 7 are features of the present invention, and are configured by an appropriate processor and its peripheral circuits. The operation will be described later. The modulator / demodulator 8 modulates the information to be transmitted into a predetermined format suitable for communication and sends it to the line 15, and demodulates the information received from the line 15 and outputs it to the control means 3. It should be noted that which modulation method is adopted can be arbitrarily determined in consideration of the characteristics of the line.

The external device 20 is provided as a management device of the facsimile device 1 and performs a process for charging the facsimile device 1 and a process for services such as maintenance. The external device 20 is connected to the data communication device 2 of the facsimile machine 1 by a line 15, and is composed of a microprocessor and its peripheral circuits, and has a control means 21 for executing various management processes and a keyboard. , An input device 22 including a mouse, a display device 2 including a CRT, etc.
3, a modulator / demodulator 24, a hard disk or a floppy disk, a memory 25 including a ROM, a RAM, etc., and a printer 26 for printing various information on recording paper. The external device 20 is the data communication device 2
Not only is it possible to receive management information and the like transmitted from, but it is also possible to request management information by inputting a predetermined command from the input device 22. That is, when a command for requesting management information is input by the input device 22, the control means 21 transfers the command to the data communication device 2 via the modulator / demodulator 24. Also,
Similarly, it is possible to clear the management information and the like written in the memory 4 of the data communication device 2 and set it to the initial state. Further, the data communication device 2 is a program for controlling the operation of the facsimile device 1. Can also be transferred. This makes it possible to easily change the operation mode of the facsimile apparatus 1.

The modulator / demodulator 24 modulates information to be transmitted into a predetermined format suitable for communication and sends it to the line 15, and demodulates information received from the line 15 and outputs it to the control means 21. The memory 25 is the input device 22.
It is for storing the data input from the device, the data received from the data communication device 2 via the line 15, and the like.

Next, the operation of the data communication device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. When the process of determining the transmission time of the previous management information is completed, the detection unit 6 sets the condition for transmitting the management information to the external device 20 (step S1). This condition is set by fetching the transmission condition of the management information written in a predetermined area of the memory 4. The transmission conditions of this management information include those fixedly fixed and those specified by the external device 20.

As the former, the number of received sheets, the number of transmissions, or the number of receptions in the facsimile apparatus 1 can be mentioned. For example, if the condition that the management information is transmitted each time the total number of received sheets reaches 500 is fixedly set in the memory 4, the detection unit 6 determines from the predetermined area of the memory 4 in step S1. Read and set the conditions,
After that, when the total number of received sheets reaches 500, the transmission time of the management information is determined by the processing described later.

In the latter case, the external device 20 may instruct the date for transmitting the management information.
When the condition for transmitting the management information is instructed from the external device 20 as described above, when the data for the condition for transmitting the management information transmitted from the external device 20 to the line 15 is received, the control means 3 sets it in the memory 4 in a predetermined manner. Write in the area. Therefore, in step S1, the detection unit 6 can know the condition by reading the data in the predetermined area of the memory 4.

When the processing of step S1 is completed, the detection unit 6
Notifies the control means 3 to that effect. Under this condition, the control means 3 changes the state of the facsimile apparatus 1 to the memory 4
(Step S2). That is, the control means 3 stores the start time and the end time of the transmission / reception when the transmission / reception is performed, and particularly when the reception is performed, the accumulated reception number up to the previous reception is added to the number of sheets received by the current reception. Is added to store the cumulative number of received sheets, and when an error occurs in the facsimile apparatus 1, the content of the error and the location of the error are stored. Further, when there is a transmission reservation, other necessary information such as the reservation time is also stored. As described above, these pieces of information are sent from the main control means of the facsimile apparatus 1.

The timer 5 interrupts the detection unit 6 every predetermined time. By this interrupt, the detection unit 6 refers to the data indicating the state of the facsimile apparatus 1 including the management information stored in the predetermined area of the memory 4, and satisfies the condition for transmitting the management information set in step S1. to whether the determined (step S3), and if they satisfy the management information transmission condition, calculates a predicted transmission time t _a, based on the amount of data to be transmitted information (step S4).

[0022] Next detector 6 reads out the start time and end time when the reception is performed from the memory 4, a predetermined time, for example, separate the day every predicted transmission time t _a which is calculated in step S4, The frequency of communication in each divided time zone is calculated (step S5). Specifically, it is as follows. If now the predicted transmission time t _a calculated in step S4 is assumed to be 5 minutes, detector 6 as shown in FIG. 3, delimiting the 24 hours from midnight to 12 pm every 5 minutes. Then, if it is stored in step S2 that the transmission or reception is performed from 8:43 to 8:57, the detection unit 6 causes the time zone of 8:40 to 8:45, 8:45 to 8: 50 hours, 8:50 ~
The communication frequency of each time zone of the time zone of 8:55 and the time zone of 8:55 to 9:00 is set to 1, and this processing is performed for all the communications stored in the memory 4, and each zone is divided. Calculate the cumulative frequency for the time period.

Next, the detecting section 6 refers to a predetermined area of the memory 4 to obtain the time zone reserved for transmission (step S
6) The transmission start time of the management information is determined based on the results of steps S5 and S6 (step S7). That is, the detection unit 6 is in a time period when no transmission reservation is made,
In addition, the start time of the time zone in which the cumulative communication frequency calculated in step S5 is the minimum is determined as the transmission start time. At this time, if there are a plurality of time zones that satisfy such a condition, it is possible to set an arbitrary time zone among them, for example, the Nth time zone (N is a natural number). For example, if it is Monday, the time zone between 22:00 and 24:00 is the first priority, and the time zone between 21:00 and 22:00 is the second priority. It is possible to set an appropriate priority to the transmission time zone for each day of the week when making a decision, but here, in order to facilitate understanding, the earliest time zone is selected. For example, in FIG.
In the case shown in (1), there are no transmission reservations due to the process of step S7, and the cumulative communication frequency is zero, as a time zone of 7:00 to 7:05 and a time zone of 22:55 to 23:00. If two time zones are detected, the detection unit 6 selects the former time zone and determines 7:00 as the transmission start time.

Next, the detection section 6 notifies the control means 3 and the timer 5 of the transmission start time determined in step S7 (step S8), and returns to step S1. Then step S7
At the transmission start time determined in step 1, the timer 5 interrupts the control means 3. As a result, the control means 3 reads out the management information to be transmitted to the external device 20 from the memory 4 and transfers it to the modulator / demodulator 8 together with the identification number of the facsimile device 1. The modulator / demodulator 8 converts the received information into a predetermined format and sends it to the line 15.

The external device 20 receiving this management information
The received information is displayed on the display device 23 or printed on the recording paper by the printer 26. By performing the above processing in the data communication device 2, the management information can be transmitted in the time zone in which the frequency of data communication is the lowest. Although only the management information is transmitted in the above description, if it is requested to transmit not only the management information but also the image information or other information in step S1 of FIG. It goes without saying that information is also subject to transmission. Further, there is no transmission reservation for determining the transmission start time in step S7,
In addition, the time zone in which the cumulative communication frequency is the minimum is selected, but various conditions other than this can be set.
For example, depending on the type of business, there may be times when communication frequency is extremely high or times when communication frequency is extremely low, depending on the day of the week or the day.
The time zone where the communication frequency is extremely high is stored in the memory 4 in advance as the management information transmission prohibited time zone, and the time zone where the communication frequency is extremely low is stored in the memory 4 in advance as the highest priority time zone of the transmission of the management information, and the detection unit 6 transmits the time zone. It is also possible to refer to these conditions when determining the start time. By the way, in the configuration of FIG. 1, when the facsimile device 1 is communicating with the external device 20 as a management device or another external device, for example, another facsimile device, the communication time is extremely long when the amount of information is enormous. It will be long. For example, when the control operation as the facsimile apparatus is changed, a new program may be transmitted from the external apparatus 20 as the management apparatus.
In such a case, the communication time usually takes several tens of minutes, and therefore, communication with other external devices is not carried out during this communication.

Therefore, in the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the line control unit 7 is provided to disconnect the line once every predetermined time when communication is performed for a long time and enable communication with other external devices. Has been. The operation will be described with reference to FIG.

When the communication is started, the control means 3 notifies the line controller 7 that the communication is started. As a result, the line controller 7 stores predetermined information such as the communication start time and the identification information of the communication partner in the memory 4 in a predetermined area of the memory 4 (step S10), and then determines whether or not the communication is completed. (Step S11), the line controller 7 terminates this process if the communication is completed, but if the communication is not completed, the line stored in the predetermined area of the memory 4 is terminated. The cutting condition is referred to to determine whether the cutting condition is satisfied (step S12). The conditions for disconnecting the line are that a new transmission request is generated in the facsimile device 1, a transmission request is received from an external device other than the currently communicating external device, and the communication currently being performed is predetermined after the communication starts. It can be set arbitrarily such as the passage of time, or in the case of a device having a plurality of lines, that all the lines are in use, and if the set conditions are stored in a predetermined area of the memory 4. Good.

When the line control unit 7 determines that the line disconnection condition is satisfied, it transmits the information necessary when the line is restarted, for example, the identification information of the communication destination and the information up to which the data communication device 2 is transmitting. The address information indicating that the data communication device 2 has received, the address information indicating to what extent the data communication device 2 has received, and the like are stored in the memory 4 (step S13), and then the line is disconnected (step S14). ). As a result, the facsimile device 1 can transmit desired information such as image information to a desired external device, and can also receive various information transmitted by the external device.

After disconnecting the line in step S14, the line control unit 7 refers to the line reconnection condition stored in a predetermined area of the memory 4 and determines whether or not the line reconnection condition is satisfied. If it is satisfied (step S15), the information stored in the memory 4 in step S13 is referred to, and communication with the external device that was previously communicating is restarted (step S16).

Here, the condition for line reconnection is, for example, that after the line is disconnected in step S14, if no communication is performed within a predetermined time T _OUT , the communication started after the line disconnection is the predetermined value. When the communication is continued even after the time T _OUT has elapsed, it can be set arbitrarily when the communication is completed, and the set condition may be stored in a predetermined area of the memory 4.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the mode of communication between the data communication device 2 and the external device 20 when the line is reconnected in step S16. In FIG. 5, the line is disconnected in step S14 while the data communication device 2 is receiving,
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an aspect of communication in the case of reconnecting a line in step 6. First, a communication start request signal is transmitted to the external device 20 which is the other party having the identification number stored in step S13 (step S20), After confirming the communicable signal from the device 20 (step S21), the address information indicating how far the information has been received up to the last disconnection of the line is transmitted, and the transmission request of the untransmitted information is made (step S21).
22). On the other hand, the external device 20 transmits the untransmitted information (step S23), and when the transmission is completed, transmits the communication end signal (step S24).

When disconnecting the line and reconnecting the line while the data communication device 2 is transmitting, the data communication device 2 first executes the step S in the same manner as shown in FIG.
The communication start request signal is transmitted to the other party having the identification number stored in 12, and after confirming the communicable signal from the other party, the untransmitted information is transmitted and finally the communication end signal is transmitted.

After reconnecting the line, the line controller 7 returns to step S10 again, and writes predetermined information such as the time when the line is reconnected and the identification information of the other party of the communication in a predetermined area of the memory 4, The above-described processing is repeatedly executed until the communication with the external device 20 is completed.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the data communication apparatus according to the present invention is applied to the facsimile apparatus has been described. However, it is generally applied to an apparatus connected to an external apparatus through a line for the purpose of management such as a copying machine. It can be applied. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the communication start request signal is transmitted from the data communication device 2 when the line is reconnected, but it is also possible to issue the communication start request signal from the external device 20.

Further, in the above embodiment, when determining the transmission start time of the management information, the data regarding the usage status of the data communication after the last transmission of the management information is used. It is also possible to determine the transmission start time of the management information and the like based on the usage status of the data communication within the past predetermined period such as the usage status of the communication. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the cumulative frequency is obtained by dividing the 24 hours by the predicted transmission time, but the cumulative frequency is obtained by dividing the time by a predetermined time width, for example, every minute, and the cumulative frequency is managed in the minimum time zone. It is also possible to set the transmission start time of information and the like.

[0036]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a detection unit for detecting a time zone when the usage rate of data communication is low is provided, and predetermined information such as management information is provided during the time when the usage rate is low. Is transmitted, it is possible to effectively use the line of the data communication device having a limited number of lines. Further, since the line is temporarily disconnected during communication by the line control unit and then the line is reconnected, it is possible to communicate with other external devices even when communicating information that requires a long time for transmission. ..

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a data communication device incorporated in a facsimile device and an external device connected to the data communication device by a line.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the detection unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a process of determining a transmission start time of management information.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of a line control unit.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an aspect of communication at the time of line reconnection.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Facsimile device, 2 ... Data communication device, 3 ... Control means, 4 ... Memory, 5 ... Timer, 6 ... Detection part, 7 ... Line control part, 8 ... Modulator / demodulator, 15 lines, 20 ... External device, 2
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Control means, 22 ... Input device, 23 ... Display device, 24
... modem / modulator, 25 ... memory, 26 ... printer.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A data communication device for transmitting predetermined information such as management information to an external device, a storage means for storing data relating to an execution status of past communication with the external device, and a past storage stored in the storage means. A detection unit that detects a time zone in which the communication utilization rate is low based on data regarding the communication execution status, and allocates the transmission time of the predetermined information to the time zone, and the use of a data communication device transmits the predetermined information. A data communication device comprising: a control unit that transmits the predetermined information to an external device at a transmission time assigned by the detection unit when a predetermined determination criterion that defines a condition is reached. 2. In a data communication device for communicating management information, image information and / or other information with an external device, the line is temporarily disconnected after a lapse of a predetermined time after the communication with the external device is started, and then communication is performed. The communication destination identification information and the information for communicating unsent / received information when reconnecting the line are stored, and after the line is disconnected, the line with the external device is reconnected when the condition for line reconnection is satisfied. A data communication device comprising a line control means for connecting and communicating untransmitted / received data based on the stored communication partner identification information and the stored information for communicating untransmitted / received information.