JPH0793672B2 - Fax machine - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a facsimile machine, and more particularly to a facsimile machine having means for detecting the remaining amount of recording paper.

[Prior art]

In the conventional device of this type, when reception of one page of image information is completed, communication is interrupted if a certain amount of recording paper or more does not remain, and the reception preparation completion signal for the next original is not transmitted. Communication was terminated with an error. Therefore, the operator
Communication was interrupted halfway, and there were cases where it was necessary to check with the other party whether there was a manuscript to be sent.

This situation is the same in the facsimile machine using roll paper, and when the remaining amount of recording paper reaches a predetermined value, the communication is immediately terminated as an error.

Therefore, when there is a break in the image information at the end of communication, the recorded image information up to that point may be mistakenly recognized as the entire transmitted image information.

Conventionally, the error display that is performed when communication is terminated due to low (or no) recording paper is not sufficient to simply notify that there is an error or to notify (low) recording paper is low. In the case of such an error end, it is necessary to confirm to the transmitting side by telephone or the like whether the received image information is all.

Further, in an apparatus that uses roll paper as recording paper, when a mark (black band) printed on the end of the roll paper is detected,
The communication was terminated after the reception of one page being received was completed. Since this mark is usually detected by reading the reflected light from the mark with an optical sensor, the same detection signal as when the mark was detected was output even when the recording paper was completely exhausted. Therefore, in the apparatus using the thermal recording unit, the recording paper is present at the recording position even if the recording paper runs out during the reception of a long long document, and the end portion (black band is I mistakenly think that I am printing to the marked position.

Due to this misconception, the device continues to apply a voltage to the recording head, and the amount of heat that should be originally applied to the thermal paper is directly applied to the pressure contact member provided facing the recording head, gradually accumulated, and abnormal heating occurs. This is a cause of deterioration of the recording head.

[Object] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to set a limit on the number of lines of image data to be received after the remaining amount of recording paper reaches a predetermined amount. Receiving means for receiving the image data transmitted from the apparatus; recording means for recording the received image data received by the receiving means on a recording paper; and detecting that the remaining amount of the recording paper reaches a predetermined amount. 1
Detecting means; second detecting means for detecting the end of reception of one page of the received image data; counting means for counting the number of lines received by the receiving means; When the second detecting means detects that the count value of the counting means reaches the predetermined value after the second detecting means detects the end of reception of one page of the received image data after detecting that the predetermined amount has been reached, the receiving means It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus characterized by having control means for terminating reception and stopping reception in the middle of one page.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the structure of an image receiving system of a facsimile machine adopting the present invention. However, the example here is a G2 (group 2) facsimile machine that meets CCITT recommendations.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 is an NCU (network control unit), which is a known unit for controlling connection of a telephone switching network, maintaining a loop, or switching between a telephone and a facsimile device. The telephone line 2a is connected to the input of the NCU2.

The output signal line 2b of the NCU 2 is connected to the hybrid circuit 3. The hybrid circuit 3 separates the transmission signal and the reception signal, outputs the signal received from the line 2a to the signal line 3b, and outputs the signal input from the signal line 22a via the NCU 2 to the line 2
send to a.

The received signal on the signal line 3b is input to the demodulator 4 and the tonal signal analysis circuit 5.

The demodulator 4 demodulates the received signal by a predetermined method and outputs the result to the message end signal detection circuit 6 and the recording unit 8 via the signal line 4a. Further, the demodulator 4 generates a pulse on the signal line 4b every time one line (scanning line) is demodulated.

Tonal signal analysis circuit 5 is at least PIS (procedure interruption)
It detects the reception of signals and GC2 (group 2 command) signals. The tonal signal analysis circuit 5 is configured by using a known tonal counter or the like, and generates a pulse on the signal line 5a when receiving the PIS signal and a pulse on the signal line 5b when receiving the GC2 signal.

The message end signal detection circuit 6 detects a demodulated EOM (end of message) signal and generates a pulse on the signal line 6a when this signal is detected.

The recording unit 8 is configured by using a known thermal printer or the like, and records the demodulated image information on a predetermined recording paper. Specifically, the recording unit 8 records the signal on the signal line 10a when the signal level "1" is input from the signal line 16a. When the signal level "0" is input from the signal line 16a, the signal on the signal line 4a is recorded. The recording operation is controlled by the state of the signal line 16b. Recording is performed at the signal level "1" of the signal line 16b, and the recording operation is stopped at the level "0".

Reference numeral 10 is a pattern generation circuit composed of a charactor generator, etc., and the signal lines 16c, 16d
When a pulse is generated on the
Output to 10a. When the output of this image information is completed, the pattern generation circuit 10 generates a pulse on the signal line 10b.

The image information specified by the signal lines 16c and 16d are characters that mean "the other device was transmitting image information" and "the other device was trying to transmit the image information of the next page", respectively. Make a column. However, these pieces of image information are not limited to characters, and may be represented by desired symbols.

On the other hand, as the circuit of the transmission system, the MCF2 signal transmission circuit 18 and
The GI2 signal sending circuit 20 is shown.

The MCF2 signal sending circuit 18 sends an MCF2 (message confirmation) signal to the signal line 18a when a pulse is generated on the signal line 16h. The GI2 signal sending circuit 20 sends a GI2 (group 2 identification) signal to the signal line 20a when a pulse is generated on the signal line 16g.

The transmission signals of the signal lines 18a and 20a are added by the adder circuit 22 and input to the hybrid circuit 3 via the signal line 22a.

The control circuit 16 is composed of a microcomputer or the like, and the recording paper remaining amount detection circuit 12 is connected via a signal line 12a for the control described later.

The recording paper remaining amount detection circuit 12 is a detection circuit configured in the same manner as a known one, and when the remaining amount of recording paper is a certain amount a or more, the signal line 12
The signal level “1” is output to a, and the level “0” is output when the remaining amount is less than that. This fixed amount a is, for example, G2
The length of the A4 original, which is the standard, is added with a certain amount b. The fixed amount b is set to a length sufficient to record the image information generated by the pattern generation circuit 10.

The counter circuit 14 is used to count the number of received lines, and the count value is cleared when a pulse is generated on the signal line 16e. Also, it counts the number of pulses on the signal line 16f and outputs the count value to the signal line 14a.

The control circuit 16 performs control as outlined below.

When it is detected that the remaining amount of the recording paper is equal to or larger than the fixed amount a, the receiving operation similar to the conventional one is performed. When it is detected that the remaining amount of recording paper has reached the fixed amount a during the recording of the image information, the number of lines received by the counter circuit 14 is counted. If the EOM2 signal is received before the 1143 (the number of A4 equivalent lines in G2 mode) lines are received after the count is started, that is, when the transmission of the image information for one page is completed, the MCF2 and GI2 signals are transmitted. To do. In response to this, when the other side has a continuous original, the GC2 signal is transmitted, but in this case, the CFR2 signal is not transmitted. That is, the image information of the next page cannot be received. And signal line 16
A pulse is generated at d, and the pattern generation circuit 10 outputs a message "The partner device is trying to transmit the next page" and records it.

If the number of lines is 1143 and the other party's EOM2 signal is not received even if the line count starts, the signal line 16
The recording unit 8 is stopped via b and the recording is interrupted. If the fixed amount a is set as described above, then the recording paper is fixed amount b at this time.
Therefore, a pulse is generated on the signal line 16c at this time, and the message "the other device is transmitting image information" is output from the pattern generation circuit 10 and recorded by the recording unit 8.

The control procedure of the control circuit 16 as described above will be described in detail with reference to the flow chart of FIG. Since the procedure from the line connection to the start of image reception is the same as the publicly known method, the operation from the start of image reception is shown here.

In step S30 of FIG. 2, the control circuit 16 controls the signal line 16a.
The signal level "0" is output to. That is, the signal of the signal line 4a is input to the recording unit 8 and the image recording is performed based on this signal.

Then, in step S32, the level "1" is output to the signal line 16b to start recording.

Then, in step S34, it is determined whether the signal level of the signal line 12a is "1". That is, the output of the recording paper remaining amount detection circuit 12 is checked to determine whether the recording paper remaining amount is equal to or more than the predetermined amount a. If this step is positive, the routine proceeds to step S36, and if it is negative, the routine proceeds to step S48.

In step S36, it is determined whether or not a pulse is generated on the signal line 6a, that is, the message end signal detection circuit detects EO.
Determine if M signal is detected. When this step is affirmed, the procedure proceeds to step S38, and when this step is denied, the procedure returns to step S34.

In step S38, the level "0" is output to the signal line 16b, and the recording operation of the recording section 8 is stopped.

In step S40, a pulse is generated on the signal line 16h, and the MCF2 signal sending circuit 18 sends the MCF2 signal in the G2 mode. Next, in step S42, a pulse is generated on the signal line 16g, and the GI2 signal sending circuit 20 outputs the GI2 signal in the same manner as in the above step. The above procedure signal is sent to the line via the adder circuit 22, the hybrid circuit 3 and the NCU 2.

Then, in step S44, it is checked whether or not a pulse is generated on the signal line 5b. That is, the output of the tonal signal analysis circuit 5 is checked to see if a PIS signal has been received from the other party. If the PIS signal is received, the process returns to step S30, and if not received, the process proceeds to step S46.

In step S46, it is checked whether or not a pulse is generated on the signal line 5a, that is, whether or not a GC2 signal is received from the other party as in the above step. If it has been received, the communication is ended in step S66, and if it has not been received, the process returns to step S42 and the GI2 signal is sent again.

On the other hand, in step S48, a pulse is generated on the signal line 16e and the counter circuit 14 is reset.

Then, in step S50, it is checked whether or not the EOM signal is received from the other party in the same manner as in step S36. If it has been received, the process proceeds to step S68, and if it has not been received, the process proceeds to step S52.

In step S52, it is checked whether or not a pulse has occurred on the signal line 4b, that is, whether or not the demodulator 4 has finished demodulating the image information of one line. If the demodulation is completed, step S54 is performed. If the demodulation is not completed, step S50 is performed.
Return to.

In step S54, a pulse is generated on the signal line 16f and the count value of the counter circuit 14 is incremented by 1.

In step S56, the count output of the signal line 14a is checked to determine whether the value exceeds 1143. Count output is 11
If it exceeds 43, the process returns to step S58, and if it does not exceed 43, the process returns to step S50.

In step S58, the level "1" is output to the signal line 16a and the input signal of the recording section 8 is switched from the signal line 4a to the output of the pattern generating circuit 10 of the signal line 10a.

Then, in step S60, a pulse is generated on the signal line 16c,
The character force image information "The partner device was transmitting image information" is output from the pattern generation circuit 10 and recorded by the recording unit 8.

Then, in step S62, a pulse is generated on the signal line 10b, that is, the end of the image information output by the pattern generation circuit 10 is waited for. Only when the output of the image information is completed, the process proceeds to step S64.

At step S64, the level "0" is output to the signal line 16b to stop the recording operation of the recording unit 8, and then at step S66 the communication is ended.

On the other hand, in step S68, the operation of the recording unit 8 is stopped as in step S64.

Next, in steps S70 and S72, the MCF2 signal and the GI2 signal are transmitted as in steps S40 and S42.

In steps S74 and S76, similarly to steps S46 and S44, the reception of the PIS signal or the GC2 signal is waited. When the PIS signal is received, the communication is ended in step S66, and when the GC2 signal is received, the process proceeds to step S78. If neither signal is received, the process returns to step S72 and the GI2 signal is transmitted again.

In step S78, the level "1" is output to the signal line 16a, and the input of the recording unit 8 is switched to the signal line 10a side.

At step S80, the level "1" is output to the signal line 16b to start recording the image signal.

In step S82, a pulse is generated on the signal line 16d, and the pattern generation circuit 10 outputs the character string image information "The partner device was trying to transmit the image information of the next page", and this is recorded by the recording unit 8. . After that, the above step S6
Move to 2.

By the control as described above, when the remaining amount of recording paper reaches the minimum, it is indicated that "the other party is transmitting", that is, the image communication is incompletely completed in the middle of the page. If the page break occurs within a range where one or more pages of images cannot be received, "the other party was trying to send the next page", that is, the image communication ended incompletely at the page break. Is shown. Therefore, the operator can carry out appropriate processing such as prompting the other party by telephone after sending a new recording sheet and transmitting the remaining images. Further, unlike the conventional case, incomplete recording will not be mistaken for all received image information.

The message to be recorded and output as exemplified above may also include other meanings such as "no remaining recording paper" and "error end". Further, although the G2 facsimile system has been exemplified above, the present invention can of course be applied to a device having another communication mode with a different procedure.

[Effect]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the count value of the number of lines received after it is detected that the remaining amount of recording paper has reached the predetermined amount and before the end of reception of one page is detected. When the number reaches a predetermined value, the reception is terminated and the reception is stopped in the middle of one page. Therefore, even if the remaining amount of recording paper becomes low during the reception of a long long document, the reception is stopped at a certain number of lines. You can stop receiving in the middle of the page,
It is possible to prevent the recording operation from being performed when the recording paper is not present at the recording position.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile machine adopting the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the control procedure of the control circuit in FIG. 2 ... NCU, 3 ... hybrid circuit 5 ... tonal signal analysis circuit 6 ... message end signal detection circuit 8 ... recording section, 10 ... pattern generation circuit 14 ... counter circuit, 16 ... control circuit 18 ... … MCF2 signal sending circuit 20 …… GI2 signal sending circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A receiving means for receiving image data transmitted from a transmitting device, a recording means for recording the received image data received by the receiving means on a recording sheet, and a remaining amount of the recording sheet is a predetermined amount. First to detect that
Detecting means; second detecting means for detecting the end of reception of one page of the received image data; counting means for counting the number of lines received by the receiving means; When the second detecting means detects that the count value of the counting means reaches the predetermined value after the second detecting means detects the end of reception of one page of the received image data after detecting that the predetermined amount has been reached, the receiving means And a control unit for stopping the reception in the middle of one page. 2. The control unit causes the receiving unit to record on the recording paper that the reception is stopped in the middle of one page when the reception is ended. Fax machine. 3. The third control means for detecting that the image data of the next page following the received image data of the page which the control means has finished receiving is about to be transmitted from the transmission device, After the first detecting means detects that the remaining amount of recording paper reaches a predetermined amount, and before the count value of the counting means reaches a predetermined value, the second detecting means detects the received image data. When the reception end of one page is detected, the reception unit ends the reception, and the image data of the next page following the reception image data of the page that has been received based on the detection result of the third detection unit is transmitted from the transmission device. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that what is going on is recorded on a recording sheet.