JPH0828802B2 - Fax machine - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine which shares one line with a telephone.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Facsimile apparatuses connected to a telephone line have an incoming call method and an automatic incoming call method, and a normal facsimile apparatus can be used by switching to either method. It has become. The automatic call receiving method is often selected when the line is exclusively used for facsimile, and the manual call receiving method is often selected when the line is shared with the telephone.

A procedure for receiving an incoming call of a facsimile machine set to automatic incoming call will be described. When an incoming call arrives, the facsimile machine counts the ringing signal, and the ringing sound of a predetermined number of times causes the line control unit to close the DC circuit, switch the line to the modem side, and enter the facsimile signal receiving state. Normally, the number of ringing tones is set to about two. From this point, the switching center side starts the time measurement as the circuit is closed, and the charging state is set.

When the circuit is closed, the calling side sends a calling tone CNG (1100 Hz, 0.5 second on, 3 seconds off repeatedly) for identifying that the call is a facsimile call. When this is detected on the called side, the called terminal identification signal (CED) (2100
Hz, 2.6-4 seconds), a digital identification (DIS) signal is transmitted. A digital command (DCS) signal is sent from the calling side in response to this, and the transmission of the calling side and the reception of the called side are decided by this. If there is no response from the calling side to the sending of DIS from the called side, the called side repeats sending DIS every 3 seconds, for example.
If there is no response within a certain period of time, disconnect the line.
This time is about 35 to 45 seconds. After the line is closed,
Even if CNG is not sent from the calling side, the called side
CED is sent after 1.8 to 2.5 seconds.

In such a conventional automatic reception procedure, when the calling side is in a call, the CNG is not sent from the calling side even if the line is closed. On the called side, simply send DIS repeatedly to request a facsimile procedure,
The callee disconnects the line after a certain period of time. Therefore, a fax machine set for automatic reception will
You cannot make calls. Moreover, on the called side,
The called party does not pick up the handset because it cannot recognize the call. During this time, the calling party will hear a noisy DIS tone and will be charged.

In the case of facsimile reception by the manual method, since the line is connected in the call mode, there is no problem in receiving a call from the calling side. When the request for facsimile transmission from the calling side is transmitted during a call, the called side
By switching to the facsimile mode, the facsimile procedure is executed and facsimile reception is performed.
However, if the called side cannot go off-hook due to absence, etc., the facsimile from the calling side cannot be received. The called party cannot deal with the facsimile machine in which the calling party is set to the automatic transmission mode such as the broadcast transmission or the time designation transmission.

With the spread of facsimiles, it has become common to use both a facsimile and a telephone on a single line. However, regardless of whether the automatic reception or the manual reception is set, a telephone call is received. For incoming faxes,
There is a problem that we can not respond sufficiently.

In order to solve this problem, there is known a method in which whether the incoming call is a telephone call or data communication such as a facsimile is discriminated and the called party responds to either of them.

In the automatic incoming call system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-262350, when an incoming call arrives, the called side closes the line, sends a message, and determines communication / call. When the identification signal is not transmitted from the calling side within a predetermined time, it is determined that the call is made, a pseudo ringback tone is sent to the calling side, and a buzzer is output. According to this method, if there is an identification signal during the monitoring period, the communication mode is entered, and if the identification signal cannot be obtained, that is, when a call is received, a buzzer sounds and the calling side is called. Since the ringback tone is transmitted, it is possible to handle calls.

However, on the receiving side, even if there is an incoming call, it is not known that it is a call until the monitoring period elapses, so that a wasteful time is spent. Moreover, there is a problem that the calling side is in a silent state after listening to the message and until the pseudo ringback tone is transmitted, which causes anxiety.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-148750.
In the telephone / facsimile switching method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication, when a call is received, a pseudo ringback tone is immediately sent from the called side to monitor the CNG from the calling side. If CNG is not detected during the monitoring period, it is determined that the call is made, the pseudo ringback tone is continued, and a buzzer sound is generated to notify the arrival of the call.

In this method, since the pseudo ringback tone continues during the monitoring period, there is no anxiety as described above, but even in the case of a telephone call, it is useless until the monitoring period elapses. The problem of spending time has not been solved.

In addition, when the calling side transmits by a facsimile of the manual transmission system, in the above-mentioned system, if the called side cannot make a call due to absence etc., there is also a problem that the transmission cannot be performed unless switching to facsimile transmission during the monitoring period. is there.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can deal with both telephone calls and facsimiles and can take telephone calls even during the monitoring period. It is another object of the present invention to realize a facsimile device that can be used for a manually transmitted facsimile.

[0015]

According to the present invention, in a facsimile machine having a telephone, after closing a line for an incoming call and sending a first voice message indicating the incoming call,
An intermittent pseudo ring back tone is sent to the line for a predetermined period of time, a pseudo ring tone is generated during that time, and the facsimile identification signal is monitored. If the telephone is off-hook, the call mode is set, and the facsimile is detected by detecting the facsimile identification signal. A control unit is configured to be switched to a reception mode, and after the transmission of the pseudo ring back tone is completed, a second voice message indicating to switch to the facsimile reception is transmitted, and then to the facsimile reception mode. It is what

The facsimile identification signal may be monitored during the disconnection period in the pseudo ringback tone.

[0017]

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a line, 2 is a line control unit, 3 is a CNG detection unit, 4 is a pseudo ringback tone generation unit, 5 is a modem, 6 is a voice transmission unit, 7 is an attached telephone,
8 is a sub-phone, 9 is a pseudo bell sound generating section, 10 is an operating section,
Reference numeral 11 is a document reading unit, 12 is a recording unit, and 13 is a main control unit (CPU) that is in charge of control of the whole.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the time course of the incoming call operation in the facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The numbers in the figure show the time in seconds, but this value is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. This will be described with reference to FIG.

When there is an incoming call, a DC intermittent signal of 16 Hz from the line 1 is received as a ring tone, and the attached telephone 7
A ringing tone sounds at the sub-phone 8. When the facsimile apparatus is set to the automatic call receiving mode, when the ring tone is detected a certain number of times, for example, twice, the line control unit 2 closes the DC circuit of the line. As a result, the ringing tone is stopped and the exchange starts charging.

Next, from the voice transmission section 6, R (not shown)
A first voice message, that is, voice 1 having a content such as "I will call you up, please wait" is sent out with a synthetic sound or the like based on the data stored in the AM or the like. If the calling side is a telephone call, it is possible to confirm the incoming call and recognize that the billing has started. When the sending of the first message is completed, a signal from the pseudo ringback tone generating unit 4 is sent from the line control unit 2 to the line 1 in order to notify the calling side that the calling state.
The pseudo ringback tone is, in this embodiment, 1 second transmission and 2 seconds interruption of the same pattern as the ring tone. at the same time,
The pseudo ring tone generated by the pseudo bell sound generation unit 9 sounds as a ring tone in the auxiliary telephone 7 and the slave telephone 8.

The pseudo bell sound may be generated by generating it as a low frequency signal and providing a speaker on the facsimile main body side and the slave telephone side. Alternatively,
It may be generated as a DC intermittent signal to ring the bells provided on the auxiliary telephone and the slave telephone. Simultaneously with calling the operator with a pseudo bell sound, the process proceeds to a sequence for determining whether the incoming call is a facsimile or a call.

In this embodiment, the CNG detecting section 3 detects the CNG periodically within the period in which the pseudo ringback tone is generated. That is, during the period when the pseudo ringback tone is off, the CNG detection unit 3
Thus, CNG is detected. CNG is 0.5
In this embodiment, the pseudo ringback tone is 1 second transmission and 2 seconds transmission, whereas 0.5 seconds, which is the CNG transmission period, is the detection period. Even if the pseudo ringback tone is deviated from the disconnection time, it is possible to detect the CNG by always matching the detection period in a few cycles. If CNG is detected, it is determined that the incoming call is from a facsimile, and the main control unit 13
Immediately stops the generation of the pseudo ringback tone and the pseudo bell sound and jumps to the CED / DIS transmission procedure. Therefore, the voice 2 which will be described later is not transmitted. If there is a DCS response from the calling side, the facsimile reception procedure can be entered. If the DCS cannot be received, the line disconnection command DCN is sent to disconnect the line when about 40 seconds have passed.

When the incoming call is a telephone call, the CNG is not detected, and thus the pseudo bell sound is repeated. In this process, when the operator responds and lifts the handset of the auxiliary telephone 7 or the sub-phone 8, an off-hook is detected, and the line control unit 2 sets the off-hook handset to the line 1.
It becomes possible to talk to the calling side by connecting to. Generation of pseudo ringback tones and pseudo bell sounds is stopped.

In this embodiment, the number of occurrences of the pseudo ringback tone can be set from 4, 6, 8 and 10 times by the DIP switch. Therefore, the operator can adjust the response time. Is possible.

In the case where the call is received by the facsimile machine but the device goes off-hook before the detection of the CNG, it is possible to shift to the facsimile reception procedure by manually switching to the facsimile mode when the CNG is heard.

When the number of occurrences of the pseudo ringback tone reaches the set number due to the absence of the operator, the voice sending unit 6 sends a second voice message saying "I am not near right now. A voice 2 having a content such as "Please send after sound" is transmitted. The caller hears this and knows that he / she is out. Therefore, by hanging up the call, it is possible to prevent further charges.

After sending the voice 2, the facsimile machine
The fax reception mode is set. When the calling side is a facsimile of manual transmission, after listening to the second message, it is sufficient to press the send button after hearing the CED and the subsequent beeping sound of DIS sent to the calling side. As a result, the facsimile from the calling side can be received.

If there is no facsimile transmission from the calling side, transmission of CED / DIS is repeated, and when about 40 seconds have passed, a line disconnection command DCN is transmitted to disconnect the line.

In this embodiment, CNG monitoring is
This was done during the period when the pseudo ringback tone was cut off. Therefore, when the CNG is monitored, the pseudo ringback tone is not transmitted to the line, so that the CNG can be detected without being affected by the harmonics of the pseudo ringback tone. CNG may be detected even during transmission of the pseudo ringback tone by using a determination unit that is less likely to be affected by harmonics of the pseudo ringback tone.

FIG. 1 is a flow chart for explaining an embodiment of an automatic incoming call operation of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention described in FIG.

The flow starts when an incoming call arrives. Ste
At p1, the DC circuit of the line is closed, and at Step 2, the above-mentioned first message of voice 1 is transmitted. Then S
Proceed to step 3 to generate a pseudo bell sound, and then step
4, Step 5 is looped to detect CNG from the calling side. If CNG is not detected within 2 seconds,
The process moves from Step 6 to Step 7, and the pseudo ringback tone is sent. 1 second later, the pseudo ringback tone was cut off, and looped from Step 8 to Step 4,
The CNG detection and the pseudo ringback tone transmission are repeated.

If CNG is detected, Step 4 to S
Move to step 11, stop the pseudo bell sound, and then
CED is sent at 12 and DIS is sent at Step 13. In response to this, in Step 14, DC from the calling side
After receiving S, the process proceeds to Step 17, and the facsimile receiving procedure is executed. If DCS cannot be received, St
It loops from ep15 to Step13, repeats sending of DIS, and waits for DCS. Within a predetermined time, in this embodiment, when the DCS response is not obtained within about 40 seconds,
The process moves from Step 15 to Step 16 and DCN is sent to disconnect the line.

If CNG cannot be detected within the set number of pseudo ringback tones, Step 6 to Step 6
18 and stop the pseudo bell sound, Step19
Then, the second message of voice 2 described above is transmitted, the facsimile apparatus is switched to the reception mode, and Step 1
Then, the procedure proceeds to 2 and shifts to the above-mentioned facsimile procedure.

During the loop of detecting CNG and repeating the pseudo ringback tone in Step 4 to Step 9, if the auxiliary telephone or the slave telephone is off-hook,
In Step 10, the pseudo bell sound is stopped, the line is switched to the off-hook telephone side, and the call is made. When a calling side requests facsimile transmission during a call, the facsimile apparatus can switch to the facsimile reception mode and perform reception by operating a button on the operation unit.

The generation of the pseudo bell sound and the monitoring of the facsimile identification signal may be performed immediately after the line is closed. Further, when the CNG is not detected, the generation of the pseudo ringing tone and the monitoring of the facsimile identification signal may be extended until after the second message is transmitted. In any of these cases, if the attached telephone or the slave telephone is off-hook during the pseudo ringing tone generation, the call becomes possible.
If NG is detected, the mode shifts to the facsimile reception mode.

[0036]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, when the line is closed, the facsimile identification signal is monitored and a pseudo ringing tone is generated. You can respond and pick up the call even during the monitoring period. Further, there is an effect that it is possible to realize a facsimile machine of a called side, which can cope with a manually transmitted facsimile machine even if an operator is absent, and does not give an unnecessary burden to a calling side.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining an embodiment of an automatic incoming call operation of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a time course of an incoming call operation in the facsimile apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 line 2 line control unit 3 CNG detection unit 4 pseudo ring back tone generation unit 6 voice transmission unit 7 attached telephone 8 sub telephone 9 pseudo bell sound generation unit 13 main control unit (CPU)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile machine having a telephone set, upon receiving an incoming call, closing the line, sending a first voice message indicating the incoming call, and then sending an intermittent pseudo ringback tone to the line for a predetermined time. During that time, a pseudo ring tone is generated and the facsimile identification signal is monitored.
When the telephone is off-hook, the call mode is set, the facsimile reception mode is switched by the detection of the facsimile identification signal, and after the transmission of the pseudo ringback tone is completed, the second voice message indicating the switching to the facsimile reception is transmitted. Then, a facsimile apparatus having a control unit adapted to switch to a facsimile reception mode thereafter.