JPH08242324A - Facsimile terminal system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To improve user interface in the case of sharing an original reading means in a facsimile equipment as an image scanner for a personal computer. CONSTITUTION: After setting up an original, a telephone number for a scanner/ poling function is inputted from an operation part 33 in the personal computer 30 and transmitting operation is executed, the facsimile equipment 20 discriminates whether the inputted telephone number is a registered scanner/ poling function telephone number or not, and when both the telephone number coincide with each other, an operation mode is shifted to a PC-FAX mode. At the time, the reading of the original is started in accordance with the transmitting operation and picture data corresponding to the read original are applied from an interface part 11 to the personal computer 30. Namely almost all operation followed by sharing can be processed on the personal computer side.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile terminal system capable of performing data communication between an information processing device such as a personal computer and a facsimile device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A function of directly transmitting image data created by a personal computer by facsimile or receiving image data transmitted by facsimile via a telephone line is called PC-FAX. This PC
-The FAX function is achieved by connecting a fax modem having a facsimile communication function between the personal computer and a telephone line, or by connecting the personal computer to a facsimile device having a data communication interface such as RS-232C. Will be realized.

The operation of fetching the image data received by the facsimile device into the personal computer is as follows. First, the operation mode of the facsimile machine is changed from the normal operation mode to the PC-FAX mode. This PC-FAX mode setting can be performed from a personal computer using a control command called an AT command. The image data received according to the facsimile communication procedure in the PC-FAX mode is given to the personal computer.

The image data received in the normal operation mode is printed out in the recording section of the facsimile machine. By the way, when connecting a facsimile apparatus to a personal computer, an image scanner that optically reads a document to generate image data may be connected to the personal computer.

In such a case, the facsimile machine has
Normally, a document reading unit having the same function as that of the image scanner is already provided. Therefore, if the document reading unit of the facsimile apparatus is shared as an image scanner, it is possible to eliminate the waste of having two identical function realizing units. You can On the other hand, in the case of sharing, it is necessary to control the facsimile device so that the image data corresponding to the document read by the document reading means of the facsimile device is transmitted to the personal computer, so this control is realized. Command is required separately.

However, since such a command is not included in the AT command system that has been widely used in the past, it is necessary to change the command system. Therefore, it is difficult to share the document reading unit of the facsimile apparatus as an image scanner for a personal computer.

[0007]

Therefore, the applicant of the present invention is
In the Japanese Patent Application No. 5-293637 filed earlier, PC-FAX
When the mode is set, the original to be read is set in the facsimile machine, and when a specific scanner function telephone number is input through the operating means of the facsimile machine and a transmission operation is executed, the original is set in the facsimile machine. A technique has been proposed in which image data corresponding to the document read by the document reading means is sent to the personal computer.

According to this proposed technique, it is not necessary to give a special command from the personal computer to the facsimile apparatus, that is, A, which has been widely used conventionally.
The document reading means of the facsimile can be shared as an image scanner of a personal computer without changing the T command system. However,
In the above proposed technique, when sharing, the user has to bother the facsimile machine to perform the work associated with sharing such as inputting a specific scanner function telephone number. Therefore, there is a problem that the user interface is not so good.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above technical problem and to improve the user interface in the case where the document reading means provided in the facsimile is commonly used as the image reading means of the information processing apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile terminal system including a facsimile device and an information processing device which can be realized.

[0010]

A facsimile terminal system of the present invention for achieving the above object is a facsimile terminal system including an information processing apparatus and a facsimile apparatus connected to each other, wherein the information processing apparatus comprises: And an information receiving means for receiving information, and an operation mode setting means for selectively setting the operation mode of the facsimile apparatus to a first operation mode and a second operation mode,
The above-mentioned facsimile apparatus reads a document, a document reading unit, a facsimile function unit that sends information corresponding to the document read by the document reading unit to a telephone line according to a facsimile communication procedure, and sends information to the information processing apparatus. Information corresponding to the document read by the document reading unit is controlled on the telephone line when the operation mode set by the operation mode setting unit is the first operation mode by controlling the information sending unit and the facsimile function unit. When the operation mode set by the operation mode setting means is the second operation mode, information corresponding to the document read by the document reading means is sent from the information sending means. A second output control means is included.

[0011]

With the above arrangement, when the operation mode is set to the second operation mode in the information processing apparatus, in the facsimile apparatus, when the document is read by the document reading unit, the second
By the operation of the output control means, the information corresponding to the document read by the document reading means is sent from the information sending means. The transmitted information is received by the information receiving means of the information processing device. That is, according to the above configuration, the document reading unit provided in the facsimile device can be shared as the image reading unit of the information processing apparatus.

Further, since the operation mode can be set through the operation mode setting means of the information processing apparatus, almost all the work when using the document reading means provided in the facsimile apparatus is performed by the information processing apparatus. Can be done by the side.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a facsimile terminal system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This facsimile terminal system includes a facsimile device 20 and a personal computer 30 which is an information processing device, and the facsimile device 20 and the personal computer 30 are connected via a communication cable 40.

More specifically, the facsimile machine 20 is provided with a control unit 1 which functions as a first output control means and a second output control means including a microcomputer. Image data from the image processing unit 3 is given to the control unit 1. In the image processing unit 3, image data is created by performing predetermined image processing such as halftone processing on the output signal of the reading unit 2 which is a document reading unit that optically reads a document to be transmitted. The control unit 1 also encodes image data by a predetermined encoding method or an encoding / decoding device 4 that decodes a received code into image data, in order to create a control signal necessary for facsimile communication. Transmission function section 5, a reception function section 6 for executing a predetermined reception control procedure, a recording section 7 for recording a received image on a recording sheet, an operation section 8 including a keyboard, and a scanner function described later. A memory 19 is connected which can store a telephone number for use and image data. The control unit 1 is connected to a public telephone line via a modem 9 and a network control unit (NCU) 10. In this embodiment, the control unit 1, the encoding / decoding device 4, the transmission function unit 5, the modem 9 and the like constitute a facsimile function means. The operation of each unit of the facsimile function means is controlled by the control unit 1.

The control unit 1 further includes, for example, RS-2.
Interface unit 1 for data communication such as 32C
1 is connected. The facsimile device 20 is connected to the personal computer 30 via the interface unit 11 and the communication cable 40. In this embodiment, the control unit 1 and the interface unit 11 function as information sending means.

The personal computer 30 includes a control unit 31 including a CPU which controls the control center of the personal computer 30, a communication unit 32 which is an information receiving means to which the communication cable 40 is connected, and a numeric keypad for inputting a telephone number. An operation unit 33 that functions as an operation mode setting unit including a keyboard including the above, and a display unit 34 including a CRT, a liquid crystal display element, and the like are provided.

According to the above configuration, the personal computer 30 can control the facsimile device 20 by a so-called AT command and can perform facsimile communication through the facsimile device 20. That is, a so-called PC-FAX function can be realized. The procedure for realizing the PC-FAX function will be specifically described. First, in the personal computer 30, the operation mode of the facsimile device 20 is changed from the normal operation mode which is the first operation mode to the PC-FAX which is the second operation mode. The mode is manually changed using the operation unit 32. Then, the call command, the telephone number, and the image data to be transmitted are sent to the interface unit 1 via the communication cable 40.
Give to one. In response to this, the control unit 1 of the facsimile device 20 calls the destination terminal device via the telephone line, and after connecting the line, sends the image data provided to the interface unit 11 to the telephone line.

Further, when the personal computer 30 is given a control command indicating that it should stand by for reception in the PC-FAX mode, the control section 1 sends the image data received in response to the incoming call to the interface section 11. And to the communication unit 32 of the personal computer 30 via the communication cable 40. The normal operation mode is an operation mode in which image data is not exchanged between the facsimile device 20 and the personal computer 30. Therefore, when this normal operation mode is set, the image data corresponding to the document read by the reading unit 2 is sent to the telephone line, and the image data received via the telephone line is stored in the recording unit 6. Printed out.

Further, the facsimile apparatus 20 of this embodiment
In addition to the above-mentioned PC-FAX function,
When a document is read by the reading unit 2 with the X mode set, a scanner / polling function for providing the image data obtained by the reading to the personal computer 30 via the interface unit 11 is provided. ing. That is, in this embodiment, the reading unit 2 is commonly used as an image scanner of the personal computer 30.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart for explaining the procedure for realizing the scanner / polling function. To implement the scanner / polling function, the user first registers the scanner / polling function telephone number (step S1). That is, when the scanner / polling function telephone number is input by operating the ten keys provided on the operation unit 33 of the personal computer 30, the input telephone number is registered in the memory 19 as the scanner / polling function telephone number. .

Since the scanner / polling function telephone number need only be registered once, it is sufficient to perform the registration process once, for example, before the actual use is started. Of course, it is preferable that the scanner / polling function telephone number can be updated. When actually performing the scanner / polling function, the user first sets a document on the reading unit 2 of the facsimile device 20. Next, a telephone number is input using the ten-key pad provided on the operation unit 33 of the personal computer 30, and then a transmission operation is performed (step S2).

When the telephone number is input, the control unit 1 of the facsimile apparatus 20 stores the input telephone number in the memory 1
It is determined whether or not it matches the scanner / polling function telephone number registered in No. 9 (step S3). As a result, if they do not match, the operation mode is set to the normal mode, and the facsimile transmission according to the normal facsimile communication procedure is executed. That is, the calling operation for the terminal device having the inputted telephone number is executed. Then, the image processing unit 3 creates image data based on the output signal of the reading unit 2. Thereafter, this image data is subjected to appropriate encoding processing and modulation processing to generate a transmission signal, and this transmission signal is transmitted to the destination terminal device via the telephone line (step S4).

On the other hand, when the telephone number input during the transmission operation matches the scanner / polling function telephone number, under the control of the control unit 1 of the facsimile apparatus 20,
The operation mode is forcibly changed to the PC-FAX mode. It is needless to say that the operation mode of the facsimile apparatus 20 may be switched to the PC-FAX mode using the AT command from the operation unit 33 prior to the input of the scanner / polling function telephone number.

When the transmission operation is performed in the state where the PC-FAX mode is set, the reading of the original document is started in response to the transmission operation. At this time, the control unit 1 behaves as if it were polled, and transmits the image data given from the image processing unit 3 to the interface unit 11, instead of performing a call operation to an external terminal device. As a result, the image data (scan data) read by the reading unit 2 is given to the personal computer (PC) 30 via the communication cable 40 and the communication unit 32 (step S5). That is, the facsimile device 20 and the personal computer 30 perform data communication by a so-called polling method.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing changes in the display contents of the display unit 33 provided in the personal computer 30 when the scanner / polling function telephone number is registered. When the function key for dial registration is operated in the state where the initial screen P0 for prompting the setting of the transmission document is displayed, the screen changes to the screen P1. In dial registration, a menu for registering a desired telephone number with a one-touch key or abbreviated key or a menu for registering the above-mentioned scanner / polling function telephone number can be selected (screen P2).

When the input key is operated in the state of the screen P2 displaying the menu corresponding to the registration of the scanner / polling function telephone number, the screen P3 is changed to prompt the input of the scanner / polling function telephone number. From this state, when the telephone number used for the scanner / polling function is input, the screen changes to the screen P4. When the input key is operated, a message indicating that the registration of the scanner / polling function telephone number has been completed is displayed (screen P5), and the registration operation ends.

As described above, according to the facsimile terminal system of this embodiment, when the transmission operation for the scanner / polling function telephone number is performed, the image data corresponding to the read document is transferred from the interface section 11 to the personal computer 30. Given. At this time, the facsimile machine 20 behaves as if it was polled, while the personal computer 30 performs the same operation as the polling reception operation.

As a result, the personal computer 30
At the same time, the reading unit 2 of the facsimile device 20 realizing the PC-FAX function can be used as an image scanner of the personal computer 30. Therefore, it is not necessary to give a special command from the personal computer 30 to the facsimile device 20. Therefore, the reading unit 2 of the facsimile device 20 can be shared as an image scanner of the personal computer 30 without changing the command system of the AT command conventionally used for the PC-FAX function.

The transmission operation for the scanner / polling function telephone number is performed by the personal computer 3
Since it can be carried out by the operation unit 33 of 0, almost all the work can be carried out from the personal computer 30, unlike the prior art in which the telephone number is purposely input to the facsimile device 20. Therefore, it is possible to improve the user interface as compared with the related art.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the telephone number is input and the transmission operation is executed immediately after the original is set. However, for example, the original is read and the image data corresponding to the original is stored in the memory 19 of the facsimile device 20 in advance. The image data stored in the memory 19 may be stored in the personal computer 30, and then the telephone number may be input and transmitted from the personal computer 30 as needed. At this time,
If a plurality of image data corresponding to an original is to be stored, a unique ID may be set for each image data. According to this configuration, since it is not necessary to set a document every time the PC-FAX function is realized, it is possible to further improve the user interface as compared with the above embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the case where the personal computer 30 is adopted as the information processing apparatus has been described as an example, but the present invention is also applicable to other information processing apparatuses such as workstations. . Other various design changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a document is read while the operation mode of the facsimile apparatus is set to the second operation mode, information corresponding to the document is transmitted from the information sending means to the information processing apparatus. Can be given to. Therefore, the document reading unit provided in the facsimile device can be used as the image reading unit of the information processing apparatus. As a result, the document reading means of the facsimile device can be shared for fetching information into the information processing device without changing the command system for controlling the facsimile device from the information processing device.

Further, since the operation mode can be set by the operation mode setting means provided in the information processing apparatus, unlike the prior art in which the telephone number is purposely input to the facsimile apparatus, almost all of them are set. Can be performed from the information processing device. Therefore, it is possible to improve the user interface as compared with the related art.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a facsimile terminal system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the facsimile terminal system.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a change in a display mode of a display unit of a personal computer when a scanner / polling function telephone number is registered.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Control Section 2 Reading Section 3 Image Processing Section 9 Modem 11 Interface Section 20 Facsimile Machine 30 Personal Computer 32 Communication Section 33 Operation Section 40 Communication Cable

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile terminal system including an information processing apparatus and a facsimile apparatus connected to each other, wherein the information processing apparatus includes information receiving means for receiving information.
The facsimile apparatus includes operation mode setting means for selectively setting the operation mode of the facsimile apparatus to a first operation mode and a second operation mode. The facsimile apparatus includes an original reading means for reading an original, and the original reading means. Facsimile function means for transmitting information corresponding to the document read by the means to a telephone line in accordance with a facsimile communication procedure, information transmission means for transmitting information to the information processing device, and the facsimile function means, and the operation mode is set. When the operation mode set by the setting means is the first operation mode, the first output control means for sending information corresponding to the original read by the original reading means to the telephone line, and the operation mode setting means for setting When the selected operation mode is the second operation mode, the information corresponding to the document read by the document reading means is transmitted as the information. And a second output control means to be sent from the means.