JPS63281543A - Facsimile communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To decode communication management information with the facsimile equipment of a transmission station and to manage the communication charge and facsimile communication with the transmission station by coding the communication management information with a repeater station, incorporating it to a facsimile control signal and transmitting it to a repeater requesting station. CONSTITUTION:A facsimile communication system is composed of a transmission station (transmission request) TX, a repeater station EX, receiving stations RX1-RXn and a network NT and respective are connected with the network NT. The transmission station TX of the system, the repeater station EX and a scanner 2 are driven and controlled by a communication control part 3 and an original 13 is scanned, and converted to an electric signal. The control part 3 executes the establishment of a call, the setting of a communication procedure, the coding and compressing of the transmission data, executes the reproducing and decoding of the receiving data and executes the interruption of a call. A charge control part 5 stores the charge data into a memory with a telephone number and a call time as a parameter, outputs them for a transmission opponent and a converting processing part 6 converts the code data to the image data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a facsimile communication system, and more particularly to a facsimile communication system in which the usability of communication management information is improved.

(Prior Art) Recently, with the spread of facsimile machines, the functionality of facsimile machines has been improved, and management functions have been enhanced and storage processing has been performed by increasing memory capacity. Among such highly functional facsimile machines, some have appeared that are equipped with a relay service function for the purpose of reducing communication costs by networking facsimile communications and improving the throughput of the network.

In a facsimile communication system equipped with such a relay station, image information is transmitted from the transmitting station (relay requesting station) to the relay station by specifying a destination (usually multiple destinations are specified). , the relay station temporarily stores the received image information or immediately transfers the image information to the designated destination receiving station.

In such a facsimile communication system, the transmitting station (relay requesting station) manages facsimile communication, checks whether the image information is reliably transmitted from the relay station to the specified destination, and when is the transmission time? Furthermore, it is necessary to obtain communication management information such as how much communication costs were incurred.

Conventionally, such communication management information is transmitted from the relay station to the transmitting station (relay requesting station) as formatted image information when the transmission from the relay station to each designated receiving station is completed. This made it possible to obtain communications management information.

However, when communication management information is transmitted as image information from a relay station to a transmitting station (relay requesting station), there is a problem in that the amount of information is large and communication costs are high.

Therefore, conventionally, a relay station converts image information formatted communication management information into a character code and transmits it as a character code to a transmitting station, and the transmitting station converts the received character code into image information and prints it on a recording paper. A method of recording was proposed. In this way, by converting image information into character code and transmitting it, the amount of information can be reduced.
Communication costs can be reduced.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such a conventional facsimile communication system, even when image information is directly transmitted from a relay station to a transmitting station, and when it is transmitted as a character code, However, for the facsimile machine of the transmitting station (relay requesting station), the communication management information is only recorded on the recording paper as image information, and the content of the communication management information is not known and cannot be managed by the facsimile machine itself. was there.

(Purpose of the Invention) Therefore, the present invention encodes communication management information at a relay station, incorporates it into a facsimile control signal, and transmits it to a transmitting station (relay requesting station). The purpose is to enable decoding and to enable the management of communication charges and facsimile communications by facsimile machines at transmitting stations.

(Structure of the Invention) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a transmitting station that transmits image information, a relay station that relays the image information from the transmitting station and transfers it to a predetermined instruction receiving station, and a relay station that transmits image information. and a receiving station that receives image information from the facsimile station, and the relay station encodes communication management information for each receiving station, incorporates it into a facsimile control signal, and sends it back to the transmitting station.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained based on examples.

1 to 7 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention.

In Figure 1, a facsimile communication system (FS)
are transmitting station (relay requesting station) TX, relay station EX1 receiving station RX
It is composed of I~RX, and 14NT, and these transmitting stations TX, relay stations EX, and receiving stations RX, ~RX,
1 are connected via network NT.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transmitting station TX and relay station EX are
System control section 1, scanner 2, mechanism control section 3, communication control section 4, charge management section 5, conversion processing section 6, plotter (recording means) 7, mechanism control section 8, operation section (selection means) 9, memory control 10, a memory 11, and a management information control section 12.

The scanner 2 is driven and controlled by the mechanism control section 3, scans the original 13, and converts image information into electrical signals. The communication control unit 4 includes a buffer memory, a data compression/reproduction unit, a transmission control unit, a modem, a network control unit, etc., and is capable of establishing a call,
It sets communication procedures, encodes and compresses transmitted data, and also reproduces and decodes received data and disconnects calls. The charge management section 5 has a memory that stores charge data using a telephone number and a call time as parameters, and when a telephone number and a call time are given, it reads and outputs the charge for each transmission destination. The conversion processing unit 6 has a font memory and converts code data into image data. The plotter 7 is driven and controlled by the mechanism control section 8 and records image information on the recording paper 14. The operation unit 9 includes a numeric keypad, other operation keys for inputting commands, and a display unit for displaying input commands and information transmitted from the facsimile machine serving as the transmitting station TX to the operator. The transmission destination etc. are input. The memory 11 is data-managed by the memory control unit 10 and stores encoded image information. As the memory 11, for example, a hard disk or a floppy disk is used. The management information control unit 12 has a memory that stores communication management information, and stores communication management information for each destination for each transmitting station TX, such as destination station number, number of communication sheets, communication time, fax mode (communication speed), and code. It stores information such as the communication method and communication charges (charge data).

Next, the effect will be explained.

In this facsimile communication system FS, the following three
It is divided into two communication stages. That is, (I) transmitting station TX
(II) transmission from relay station EX to designated receiving stations RX, -RXn, and (III) transmission of communication management information from relay station EX to transmitting station TX.

Now, assuming that both the transmitting station TX and the relay station EX have the functions shown in FIG. 2 as described above, and that communication is carried out according to the so-called G3 facsimile procedure, the above three communication steps are described in the communication procedure shown in FIG. 3. Explain according to the following.

(1) Transmission from transmitting station TX to relay station EX First, in order to transmit a document to multiple receiving stations by relay request, transmitting station
The operator of X inputs the station number of the relay station EX and the station numbers of the receiving stations RX to RXn to be designated for transmission as a relay service request from the operation unit 9 of the facsimile machine of the transmitting station TX. In accordance with the input of this command, the system control unit 1 of the transmitting station TX calls the specified relay station EX via the communication control unit 4. In response to this calling operation, relay station EX transmits the called station identification signal (CED), non-standard function identification signal (NSF), called terminal identification signal (CSI), and digital identification signal (DI
S) is sent. This CSI signal is an opcidin signal, and includes information such as terminal identification code, communication service type, receiving memory information, code information receiving ability, and other (modem type, recording width, etc.) as shown in FIG. 4, an example of its format. Contains. In particular, depending on the communication service type, it can be determined whether the called terminal, which is the relay station EX, is capable of relay service or not, and based on the code information receiving ability, it can be determined whether it is possible to receive relay results (communication management information f1) etc. using code signals. It can be determined whether or not.

The transmitting station TX checks the NSF signal, compares the terminal identification code with the own terminal's identification code (either registered in advance at the transmitting station TX or entered by the operator), and if they do not match, disconnects the line and discontinues the service. Notify the operator that the achievement has not been achieved, or proceed to the next step if they match, or notify the relay station EX by communication service identification.
Checks whether it is possible to perform the relay service and whether there is free space in the memory. As a result of checking this NSF signal, if the relay station EX is capable of relay service, the transmitting station TX sends out a non-standard function setting signal (NSS) and a receiving terminal identification signal (TSI), and further, Sends a training check signal (TCP). This NSS signal refers to the NSF signal from the relay station EX and includes information indicating the desired content as a non-standard function. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a terminal identification code, It includes information such as communication service type, relay request station number, receiving station number, and other modem types and line density. That is, the content of the service requested by the transmitting station TX is displayed as the communication service type, and the fact that a relay service is requested is displayed here. Furthermore, the telephone number of the transmitting station TX is clearly indicated as the relay requesting station number, and the destination to which the communication management information is returned is made clear. Furthermore, the telephone number, identification information, etc. of the receiving station RX, -RX', which is designated as the destination of the image information transfer, is written as the receiving station number.

The relay station EX confirms that the terminal identification code of the NSS signal matches the identification code registered in its own terminal, stores the receiving station number related to the designated receiving station RXI-RXfi in its memory, and sends the reception standard confirmation signal ( CF R) to notify that reception preparation is complete.

When the transmitting station TX receives the CFR signal, it outputs a retraining signal and then transmits image information i (MESSAGE), and when the image information transmission is completed, it sends a communication end signal (EOP) or a multi-page signal if there is a next page. Send a signal (MPS). After the relay station EX stores the received image information in the memo January 1, the relay station EX transmits a message confirmation signal (MCF) in response to this EOP signal or MPS signal, and when all the image information has been transmitted, A disconnection command signal (DCN) is transmitted from the transmitting station TX, and if there is a next page, the next page is transmitted. Transmitting station TX and relay station EX
After the communication is completed, the system control unit 1 stores the other party's station number, number of communication sheets, communication time, facsimile communication mode, encoding method, etc. in the memory in the management information control unit 12 as communication management information. Further, in the transmitting station TX, the system control section 1 outputs the station number and communication time of the relay station EX to the fee management section 5, reads out the fee data, and stores it in the management information control section 12 together with the communication management information.

(II) Transmission from relay station EX to designated receiving stations RX, ~RXa The system control unit 1 of the relay station
It sequentially outputs the station numbers of X, and instructs the communication control unit 4 to start calling the corresponding receiving stations RX, -RX. The communication control unit 4 performs a calling operation to the line NT according to instructions from the system control unit 1, and establishes a call with the designated receiving station RX+-RX. Thereafter, the image information stored in the memory 11 is transmitted according to normal facsimile communication procedures. In this case, the transmission from the relay station EX to the receiving stations RX r to RX is NSS
There is no need for non-standard procedures such as signals or NSF signals. At this time, the system control unit 1 of the relay station EX controls each designated receiving station RX, -RX for each communication.

The charge data for each is read from the charge management section 5 and stored in the management information control section 12 together with the communication management information.

(1 [[) Transmission of communication management information from relay station EX to transmitting station TX The relay station EX transmits communication management information to each designated receiving station RXI-RX1. When the transmission to the transmitting station TX is completed, the system control section 1 outputs the station number of the transmitting station TX to the communication control section 4, and instructs the communication control section 4 to start calling. The communication control section 4 performs a calling operation to the network NT according to the station number from the system control section 1, and establishes a call with the transmitting station TX.

In response, the transmitting station TX transmits the CED signal, Dis(C
3I) Send out signals and NSF signals.

The relay station EX checks the NSF signal from the transmitting station TX and detects whether the transmitting station TX is capable of receiving code information, as described above.

When the transmitting station TX is able to receive code information, the memory control section 10 of the relay station EX reads out the communication management information stored in the management information gi section 12, incorporates it into an NSS signal, and transmits it to the transmitting station TX. That is, as shown in the format of FIG. 5, the NSS signal incorporates a terminal identification code, communication service type communication management information, and other information.

Communication management information consists of an identifier and data.
As shown in FIG. 6, communication management information such as the destination number, destination name, calling time, communication time, number of sheets sent, communication fee, line density, transmission speed, etc. is transmitted to each designated destination receiving station RXr~
Built in for each RXn.

When the transmitting station TX completes receiving the NSS signal, it sends out the CFR signal, and the relay station EX sends the DCN signal to end the transmission of communication management information. The transmitting station TX stores the received communication management information in the management information control unit 12 and uses it for management of the facsimile communication system, and also according to instructions from the operator from the operation unit 9 as a selection means or instructions set in advance. Management information control unit 1
2 and converted into image information by the conversion processing unit 6,
The plotter 7 records on the recording paper 14 .

Therefore, the facsimile device of the transmitting station TX can manage the facsimile communication system by decoding the encoded communication management information, and the convenience and management efficiency of the facsimile communication system can be further improved.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, each item of management information is recorded on the recording paper 14 as a relay result report.

On the other hand, when transmitting communication management information from the relay station EX to the transmitting station TX, if the transmitting station TX cannot receive code information, the conversion processing unit 6 uses a screen as shown in FIG. Convert it into information and send it. The communication procedure in this case is the same as that described in (1), except that the code information cannot be received.

In the above embodiment, the case of facsimile communication using the so-called 03 procedure was described, but the invention is not limited to this. (The communication management information can be encoded and transmitted/received using other procedures such as the 04 procedure as well.) can.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the charge data (call charge) is calculated and read from the own charge management unit 5 based on the communication time and the other party's station number, but when the network is providing charge data service, The charge data may be received and imported into the management information control unit 12 as communication management information.

Further, in the above embodiment, the coded communication management information is transmitted in one frame of the NSS signal, but if the amount of information is large, it may be divided into multiple frames and transmitted.

(Effects) According to the present invention, communication management information transmitted from a relay station can be decoded by a facsimile device of a transmitting station, and communication charges and communication management of a facsimile communication system can be performed by the facsimile device of a transmitting station. be able to.

As a result, the management ability of the facsimile communication system can be improved, and the convenience of the facsimile communication system can be further improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 7 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the facsimile communication system of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the facsimile communication system, and FIG. 2 is a facsimile device applied to the facsimile communication system. Fig. 3 is a time chart showing the facsimile signal procedure in the facsimile communication system, Fig. 4 is the format of the non-standard function identification signal (NSF) used in the facsimile communication system, and Fig. 5 is the facsimile communication system. Non-standard function setting signals (NS) used in communication systems
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing communication management information incorporated in the NSS, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a hard copy of the communication management information. 1...System control unit, 2...Scanner, 3...Mechanism control unit, 4...Communication control unit, 5...Fee Management unit, 6... Conversion processing unit, 7... Plotter (recording means), 8...
Mechanism control unit, 9... Operation unit (selection means), 10... Memory control unit, 11... Memory, 12... Management information control unit, 13... Manuscript, 14... Recording paper, FS... Facsimile communication system, TX...
...Transmitting station, EX...Relay station, RX, -RX, ...Receiving station, NT...Network.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) Comprising a transmitting station that transmits image information, a relay station that relays the image information from the transmitting station and transfers it to a designated receiving station, and a receiving station that receives the image information from the relay station. , a facsimile communication system characterized in that the relay station encodes communication management information for each receiving station, incorporates it into a facsimile control signal, and sends it back to the transmitting station. (2) The facsimile communication system according to claim 1, wherein the communication management information encoded by the relay station includes a call charge. (3) selection means for selecting whether the transmitting station outputs the received communication management information as a hard copy;
Claims 1 or 2 further comprising: recording means for outputting the communication management information as a hard copy according to a predetermined format when the selection means selects to output the communication management information as a hard copy. The facsimile communication system described in item 2. (4) The relay station determines whether or not the transmission station is capable of receiving the coded communication management information, and if the relay station is not capable of receiving the coded information, transmits the communication management information as image information. Claim 1 or 2
The facsimile communication system described in Section.