JPH09186794A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the opposite party making a phone call from feeling a sense of incongruity when a telephone set and a facsimile equipment are in existence on one line by sending a pseudo call tone immediately at the detection of an incoming call. SOLUTION: The simile equipment is provided with an on-hook detection circuit 40, a control section 41 consisting of a microcomputer, a call signal detection means 43, a tone generating circuit 48, a tone detection circuit 49 or the like and with a counter 51 being a time counter circuit, an off-hook detection circuit 55 and a ring signal generating circuit 56 or the like. When the call signal detection means 43 detects a call signal from a station side, th tone generating circuit 48 is started to send a pseudo call tone. Simultaneously the counter 51 is started to start time count. After a prescribed count is finished, the ring signal generating circuit 56 is started, and a telephone set 54 starts ringing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus having at least a telephone terminal section and a facsimile section, and having line control means for selectively connecting any one of them to a common telephone line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the line connection procedure for transmitting image information from a manually transmitting facsimile connected to one of the telephone lines to a manually receiving facsimile connected to the other is a normal telephone for both the transmitting side and the receiving side. There is no problem because the procedure is switched to facsimile communication after confirming the other party's convenience by using.

However, if the called side is equipped with an automatic reception facsimile, the facsimile is exclusively connected to the telephone line, so that communication other than facsimile cannot be performed.
That is, even if the calling side does not have the intention to perform facsimile transmission through the line and instead wants to make a telephone call with the other party through the line, it cannot do so, and enables such a thing. The technology has not been considered in the past.

Also, in the line connection procedure when the calling side is equipped with an automatic transmission facsimile and the called side is equipped with a manual reception facsimile, CCITT (International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee) T.30 recommendation As shown in, if the calling party sends a special signal and the person who answers the call to the called party does not know the meaning of the signal, it is mistaken as a prank call. Upon recognition, the telephone is hooked up and facsimile communication cannot be established.

[0005]

That is, conventionally, in a general home or the like, a telephone terminal unit and a facsimile unit are installed side by side with respect to one telephone line, and both are automatically used, and as a user thereof. No consideration was given to making it easy for even people with little technical knowledge, such as women, children, and old people, to use them properly.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and even if a telephone terminal section and a facsimile section are installed in parallel for one telephone line, the calling side of the other party is a telephone. For example, the telephone terminal unit and the facsimile unit are operated as if they are connected to independent telephone lines. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus having a line control means for enabling the above, and moreover, a line control means capable of giving a natural response when the calling side is not a facsimile but a telephone call.

[0007]

To achieve the above object, the present invention has a line control which has at least a telephone terminal unit and a facsimile unit, and selectively connects any one of them to a common telephone line. In a facsimile machine having means,

Identification signal detecting means for detecting a terminal identification signal sent from the calling side to identify the facsimile section, pseudo ringback sound generating means for transmitting a pseudo ringback sound to the calling side, and the telephone. Power supply means for supplying a call current and a call signal to the terminal section; off-hook detection means for detecting an off-hook of the telephone terminal section depending on the presence or absence of the supplied call current;

When an incoming call is received through a telephone line, the telephone line is connected to the identification signal detecting means and the pseudo ringback sound generating means by detecting it, and after the connection,
Means for holding the line by transmitting a pseudo ringback sound to the calling side by the pseudo ringback sound generating means without waiting time;

After the incoming call is received through the telephone line, when the identification signal detecting means detects the terminal identification signal of the calling side facsimile transmitted from the calling side within a predetermined time, the telephone line And means for connecting the facsimile section, and means for sending a calling signal to the telephone terminal section by the power source means when the terminal identification signal cannot be detected within a predetermined time,

When the telephone terminal unit goes off-hook due to the call signal being transmitted, a means for detecting the off-hook and connecting the telephone terminal unit to the telephone line, and a method for making a call from the telephone terminal unit, are used when making a call. The line control means is provided with means for detecting an off-hook of the telephone terminal section by the off-hook detecting means, and thereby connecting the telephone line to the telephone terminal section.

Further, when the telephone terminal unit does not go off-hook within a predetermined time in response to the call signal transmitted from the means for transmitting the call signal, the holding of the telephone line is released. .

[0013]

In the present invention, the telephone terminal section and the facsimile section are installed side by side on one telephone line, and if the calling party is a telephone, the telephone terminal section receives the call and the other party uses the facsimile. If there is a fax machine that receives a call in the fax section, even if it is installed in a general household, a woman,
Even a user with little technical knowledge, such as a child or an elderly person, can easily operate it without causing a malfunction.

Further, according to the present invention, when the incoming call is detected, the relay switch can be switched to immediately transmit the pseudo ringback tone to the other telephone. In the configuration according to the prior art, even if an incoming call is detected, it is not immediately known whether it is from the telephone or from the facsimile, so an attempt is made to detect the facsimile connection signal, but after a predetermined time for that, the other party is found to be the telephone. Then, the pseudo ringback tone will be transmitted, so from the other party's side, after dialing, there will be no sound for a few seconds after connection, and then the ringback tone will be heard.

This silent state is very unnatural for the other party's telephone side, and in some cases, it may be judged that the telephone is out of order, and the telephone may go on-hook. The ringback tone (signal indicating that a call is being made) is heard immediately after connection, so the above-mentioned unnatural feeling does not occur. That is, it can be said that the present invention realizes a facsimile apparatus having a telephone / facsimile automatic switching function, which is easy for a caller.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Before that, a circuit of a line control device useful for understanding the present invention will be described in advance. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a circuit of a line controller useful for understanding an embodiment of the present invention.

An outline of the figure will be described. In the line control device for selectively connecting the telephone terminal unit and the facsimile unit to a common telephone line as shown in FIG.

The call signal detecting means (43) from the station side connected in parallel to the first circuit (2) as an input line connected to the telephone line, and the first circuit (2),
The first switching means (30) for selectively switching connection between the second circuit (3) and the third circuit (12), and the second circuit (3), the signal detection means (49). ) And a fifth circuit connected to the facsimile section (47)
A second switching means (31) for selectively switching connection with the circuit (4), and a sixth circuit () connected to the call signal generating means (56) and the off-hook detecting means (55) for the telephone terminal unit. Third switching means (32) for selectively switching between 13) and the third circuit (12) to connect to the seventh circuit (14) connected to the telephone terminal (54).
And a first timer means (51) for counting a predetermined first fixed time,

When the ringing signal detecting means (43) detects a ringing signal from the station side, the first timer means (51) is activated thereby, and the first switching means (30) is activated. The first circuit (2) is switched to connect the first circuit (2) to the second circuit (3), and the second circuit (3) is then switched to the fourth circuit (17) side. The fourth circuit (1
7), extending to the signal detection means (49),

Before the signal detecting means (49) detects a specific signal which may come from the station side via the first circuit (2), the first timer means (51) causes the first timer means (51) to operate. When the counting of the fixed time of is finished, the call signal generating means (56) for the telephone terminal unit is activated, and at that time, the third switching means (32) connected to the sixth circuit (13) side. ), A call signal is sent to the telephone terminal unit (54), and when the telephone terminal unit (54) goes off-hook,
The off-hook detecting means (55) detects that,
As a result, the first switching means (30) is switched to pull the first circuit (2) into the third circuit (12), and the third switching means (32) is also switched to switch the third circuit (12). The circuit (12) of (1) is guided to the telephone terminal section (54) through the seventh circuit (14), and the telephone terminal section (5)
It enables incoming calls to 4).

Then, before the first timer means (51) finishes counting the first constant time, the signal detecting means (49) receives from the station side via the first circuit (2). When an incoming specific signal is detected, the first
Resetting the timer means (51) and switching the second switching means (31), the second circuit (3)
Is connected to a fifth circuit (4) to enable an incoming call from the input telephone line to the facsimile section (47).

Also in FIG. 6, which is another block diagram useful for understanding the embodiment of the present invention, the signal detecting means (49) may come from the station side via the first circuit (2). When the first timer means (51) finishes counting the first constant time before detecting the specific signal, it is activated by it and counts a predetermined second constant time. A second timer means (61) is provided, and the second hook means is provided before the off-hook detection means (55) detects an off-hook in the telephone terminal section (54).
When the timer means (61) has finished counting the second fixed time, the first switching means (30) is switched to switch between the first circuit (2) and the third circuit (12). By making the connection, the closed loop for the first circuit (2) is released.

In FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, an on-hook detecting means (40) for detecting on-hook on the calling side of the other party via a telephone line is connected in parallel with the first circuit (2), and the telephone is called. When the on-hook detecting means (40) detects the on-hook of the other party's calling side during communication with the other party's calling side via the line, the first switching means (30)
And the third switching means (32) is switched to release the closed loop for the first circuit (2).

Now, returning to FIG. 5, a specific description will be given. In the figure, 1 is a connection terminal connected to a telephone line (not shown), 30, 31 and 32 are relay switches for switching the lines respectively, and 40 is a telephone line from the connection terminal 1 (not shown).
An on-hook detection circuit for detecting the on-hook state of the other side via the, 41 is composed of a microcomputer,
A control unit for controlling the entire system, 43 a ring detection circuit (call signal sound detection circuit), 47 a facsimile unit, 48 a tone generation circuit, 49 a tone detection circuit,
Reference numeral 51 is a counter as a time counting circuit, 55 is a circuit for detecting an off-hook of the telephone terminal unit 54, 56 is a ring signal generating circuit (a circuit for generating a calling signal to the telephone terminal unit 54), and 57 is a DC applying circuit (call current supply). Circuit). In addition, 44, 46, 50 and 53 are flip-flops, respectively, and 45 is a clock generation circuit.

FIG. 2 shows the line controller, the telephone terminal section 54, and the facsimile section of FIG. 5 (herein the GIII standard).
47 is a chart showing a schematic operation flow when a call is made from the other side, that is, the A side via the line, with the terminal side configured by 47 and B as B.

A description will be given below with reference to FIGS.
It is assumed that the facsimile (not shown) on the A side is an automatic transmission facsimile.

The call from the A side first starts from the on-hook of the A side. Next, enter the dial number from the A side,
A ringing signal is sent to the B side by an exchange (not shown). This ringing signal is input through the connection terminal 1, detected by the ring detection circuit 43, and the flip-flop 44 is turned on. As a result, the relay switch 30 is switched to the upper side, and the circuit 2 and the circuit 3 are connected. At the same time, the counter 51 is provided with a clock generation circuit 45.
Starts to supply the clock via the AND circuit 52.
Further, the relay switch 31 connects the circuit 3 and the circuit 17.

As a result, a closed loop is connected to the connection terminal 1, the B side is in an off-hook state when viewed from the exchange side, and the A side detects this by polarity reversal. The facsimile not shown on the A side is CCITT,
T.30 (intermittent tone signal 1,100H _z) "CNG" tone recommendation delivering. FIG. 4A shows the signal waveform of the "CNG" tone.

This "CNG" tone signal is detected by the tone detection circuit 49. As can be seen from FIG. 4A, it takes 4 seconds for detection. Figure 4 shows a simple detection method.
1,100H _z tone as shown in (b) continues 0.5 seconds, then, no signal is performed by detecting that the continuous 0.5 seconds. Therefore, one second after the B side goes off-hook, the detection output signal 1 from the tone detection circuit 49 is output.
1 is turned on. If the counter 51 is set to count for 2 seconds, for example, it will be reset by the detection output signal 11 before the counter 51 finishes counting for 2 seconds.

The flip-flop 46 is set by the ON state of the detection output signal 11, and its Q output signal 9 is O.
In the N state, the relay switch 31 is switched to the upper side to connect the circuit 3 and the circuit 4. As a result, the illustrated facsimile on the A side and the facsimile section 47 on the B side are directly connected and can communicate with each other.

FIG. 3 is a chart showing a schematic operation flow of the circuit of FIG. 5 when the A side (not shown) is a telephone. The circuit operation will be described with reference to FIGS.

Until the A side detects the off hook of the B side, it is the same as described above. Since the A side is a telephone, it does not transmit the "CNG" tone signal. Therefore, the detection by the tone detection circuit 49 cannot occur, and the 2-second counter 51 is not reset midway and ends counting for 2 seconds. Therefore, the carrier output C from the counter 51
Is output, the flip-flop 50 is turned on, and the Q output thereof activates the ring signal generation circuit 56 to cause the ring tone in the telephone terminal unit 54 to ring. Ring signal generating circuit 56, 16H _z generated in the exchange,
The same signal is generated as the 75V (P-P) signal. At the same time, the tone generation circuit 48 is activated by the Q output of the flip-flop 50, and a pseudo ringing tone (a signal tone corresponding to a ringback tone) is sent to the A side via the terminal 1. .

[0033] The ringing tone is the same signal as that generated by the original switch modulates the interaction 400H _z in 16H _z, 1 second delivery, a signal generated by performing repeated two Byodan is there. In this state, when a person off-hooks the B-side telephone terminal unit 54, the off-hook detection circuit 5
This is detected at 5, and as a result, the flip-flop 44 is reset and turned off. Therefore, the relay switch 30 is switched to the lower side to connect the circuit 2 and the circuit 12. At the same time, the flip-flop 53 is turned on by the detection output of the off-hook detection circuit 55, and the relay switch 32 is switched to the upper side to connect the circuit 12 and the circuit 14. Therefore, the A-side telephone (not shown) and the B-side telephone terminal unit 54 are directly connected to each other, so that the two parties can talk with each other.

When a call is made from the B side, the telephone terminal section 54 goes off-hook, and the off-hook detection circuit 55 detects this, and as a result, the flip-flop 53 is turned on. Therefore, the relay switch 32 is switched to the upper side, the circuit 12 and the circuit 14 are connected, and the telephone terminal unit 54 is directly connected to the telephone line via the connection terminal 1. Since the subsequent operation is exactly the same as that of a normal telephone, the explanation is omitted here.

When the unillustrated facsimile on the A side and the facsimile section 47 on the B side are communicating, and the unillustrated telephone on the A side and the telephone terminal section 54 on the B side are in a call, the line is disconnected from the A side. If it has been done, the on-hook detection circuit 40 detects it. Here, 400H sent from the exchange
_z Detect continuous tones. As a result, the flip-flops 44 and 53 are turned off, and the relay switch 3
0 is switched to the lower side and the circuit 2 and the circuit 12 are connected,
The relay switch 32 is also switched to the lower side to connect the circuit 13 and the circuit 14. Therefore, the B side is in an on-hook state when viewed from the exchange side.

On the other hand, when the line is disconnected from the B side,
The signal line 6 is turned on by the control unit 41, and thereafter the same operation is performed.

FIG. 6 is yet another block diagram useful in understanding the embodiments of the present invention, as previously described. Here, the same blocks as in FIG. 5 are assigned the same numbers.

When a call is made from the facsimile on the A side (not shown), the same operation as that of the circuit of FIG. 5 is performed. When a call is made from the A-side telephone (not shown),
Until the flip-flop 50 on the B side is turned on,
It operates exactly the same as the operation of the circuit shown in FIG. At this time, the ring signal generating circuit 56 is activated to activate the telephone terminal unit 5.
At the same time as making the ring tone ring at 4, the tone generating circuit 48 is activated to send a pseudo ringing tone to the A side. Further, the counter 61 is activated. The operation up to this point is the same as the operation of the circuit of FIG. 5, but the operation is different from this point.

That is, the counter 61 not shown in FIG.
Is provided and the counter 61 is set to count for, for example, 30 seconds. If the telephone terminal unit 54 does not go off-hook within 30 seconds after the telephone terminal unit 54 starts ringing, that is, if the B side is unattended, for example, the counter 61 ends counting, and as a result, the carrier is terminated. The signal line 18 connected to the output C is turned on, and the flip-flop 44 is turned off. Therefore, the relay switch 30 is switched to the lower side to connect the circuit 2 and the circuit 12, and the B side is in an on-hook state when viewed from the exchange. That is, the line is disconnected. This is effective in minimizing the charge on the A side when the A side telephone (not shown) makes a call when the B side is away.

If the telephone terminal unit 54 goes off-hook before the counter 61 finishes counting, the off-hook detector 55 detects this and the counter 61 is reset.

With the above understanding, one embodiment of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. Here, the same blocks as those in FIGS. 5 and 6 are given the same numbers.

When a call is made from the A-side telephone (not shown), the ring detection circuit 43 detects this and the flip-flop 44 is turned on. As a result, the relay switch 30 is switched to the upper side to connect the circuit 2 and the circuit 3, and at the same time, activates the tone generation circuit 48 by the route of 8 → 10 → 48 to immediately give a pseudo ringing sound to the A side. (This is a particularly important point in this embodiment). At the same time, the counter 51 starts counting time, and after the counting is completed, that is, after 2 seconds, the ring signal generating circuit 56 is activated and the telephone terminal unit 54 starts ringing. Subsequent operations are the same as those of the circuit of FIG.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the facsimile unit 47 is provided as another component which is not included in the circuits shown in FIGS.
In addition to the tele controller 71, answering machine 72,
There is a still image transmission device 73, and a relay switch 70 and a decoder 74 for selecting one of them are provided.

That is, in addition to the facsimile section 47 as a non-telephone terminal that can be connected to the A side and the B side, respectively, a tele controller 71, an answering machine 72, and a still image transmission device 7 are provided.
There are three. When these non-telephone terminals operate as callers, they are configured to send out a signal for recognizing each non-telephone terminal prior to communication, similar to the "CNG" tone signal in the case of facsimile. ing.

As an example, the telecontroller is shown in FIG.
Used 900H _z instead of 1,100H _z of (b). Answering machine is 1,300H _z, the still picture transmission device 1, 50
Using the 0H _z.

These tone signals are detected by the tone detection circuit 49 on the B side when a call is made from the A side. This output is decoded by the decoder circuit 74, the relay switch 70 is switched, and the corresponding non-telephone terminal and the circuit 4 are connected. As a result, when installing a plurality of non-telephone terminals, it is possible to use only one telephone line if the usage rate of each is low.

Although each non-telephone terminal is identified by a tone signal here, it goes without saying that it may be identified by digital data modulated by FSK or the like.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if a telephone terminal section and a facsimile section are installed in parallel on one telephone line, if the calling party is a telephone,
If the call arrives at the telephone terminal and if the other party is a facsimile, it will arrive at the facsimile. Therefore, even if the facsimile is installed in a general household alongside the telephone, it will not be necessary for technical knowledge of women, children and the elderly. There is an effect that even a scarce user can easily operate without causing a malfunction.

Further, according to the present invention, when the incoming call is detected, the relay switch can be switched to immediately transmit the pseudo ringback tone to the other telephone. In the configuration according to the conventional technology, the pseudo ring back tone is transmitted after the predetermined time for detecting the facsimile connection signal elapses. Therefore, from the viewpoint of the partner telephone side, after dialing, after connecting to the destination, There was no sound for a few seconds,
Then the ringback tone is heard.

This silent state is very unnatural to the other party's telephone side, and in some cases it may be judged that the telephone is out of order, and the telephone may go on-hook. The ringback tone (signal indicating that a call is being made) is heard immediately after connection, so the above-mentioned unnatural feeling does not occur. That is, it can be said that the present invention provides a facsimile apparatus having a telephone / facsimile automatic switching function, which is easy for a person who makes a call.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a chart showing a schematic operation flow of the circuit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a chart showing a schematic operation flow of the circuit shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing a signal format used in the line control device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a circuit useful in understanding one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating yet another circuit useful in understanding one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

40 ... On-hook detection circuit, 43 ... Ring detection circuit, 4
7 ... Facsimile unit, 48 ... Tone generation circuit, 49 ... Tone detection circuit, 50 ... Telephone terminal unit, 51 ... Counter, 5
5 ... Off-hook detection circuit, 56 ... Ring signal generation circuit,
57 ... DC application circuit, 71 ... Tele controller, 72 ...
Answering machine, 73 ... Still image transmission device

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] November 13, 1996

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Claims]

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshinote Ota, 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile device having at least a telephone terminal unit and a facsimile unit, and having a line control means for selectively connecting any one of them to a common telephone line, in order to identify the facsimile unit. Identification signal detecting means for detecting a terminal identification signal transmitted from the calling side, pseudo ringback sound generating means for transmitting a pseudo ringback sound to the calling side, and supplying a call current and a ringing signal to the telephone terminal section Power supply means, off-hook detection means for detecting the off-hook of the telephone terminal unit depending on the presence or absence of the supplied call current, and when an incoming call is received through a telephone line, it is detected and the telephone line and the The identification signal detecting means and the pseudo ringback sound generating means are connected, and after the connection, the pseudo ringback sound generating means makes a call without waiting time. A means for holding the line by transmitting a pseudo ringback sound to the caller and a call sent out from the calling side by the identification signal detecting means within a predetermined time after a call is received via the telephone line. When the terminal identification signal of the side facsimile is detected, a means for connecting the telephone line and the facsimile section, and when the terminal identification signal cannot be detected within a predetermined time, the power supply means calls the telephone terminal section. A means for sending a signal, a means for connecting the telephone terminal to the telephone line by detecting it when the telephone terminal goes off-hook due to the calling signal being sent, and a means for making a call from the telephone terminal. The line control means includes means for detecting an off-hook of the telephone terminal unit at the time of a call by the off-hook detection means, thereby connecting the telephone line and the telephone terminal portion. A facsimile machine characterized by being provided. 2. The holding of the telephone line is released when the telephone terminal unit does not go off-hook within a predetermined time with respect to the calling signal sent from the means for sending the calling signal. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, which is characterized in that: