JP2000032183A - Communication terminal equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication terminal equipment capable of switching a recording means in accordance with a transmitted party. SOLUTION: A communication part 1 acquires the telephone number of a called party from an caller identification(ID) signal sent from an exchange at the incoming of a call. A called party table prepared by making the telephone number of each called party and a recording part to be selected a pair and stored in a RAM 13 is retrieved, and a recording part corresponding to the acquired telephone number of the called party is selected. Information received for the selected recording part 2 or recording part 3 is transferred and recorded. For instance, the recording part 3 having a normal paper recording part 31 is selected for a called party transmitting information to be stored, and the recording part 2 having a heat sensitive recording part 21 the recording cost of which is low is selected for the other called parties to record information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication terminal device for communicating with a destination and recording received information by recording means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A general communication terminal device has only one recording means for recording received information. At this time, the cost required for printing one page differs depending on the printing method in the printing means. For example, in the case of using a thermal recording method as a recording means, the cost per page is low. However, there is a problem in terms of durability such as darkening when left in a hot place. On the other hand, although the cost per page is high in the electrophotographic method or the like, plain paper can be used and the durability is excellent. As described above, in spite of the characteristics of each recording method, in the conventional communication terminal device, all received information is recorded only by the only recording method provided in the device.

[0003] However, for example, information received from an unspecified destination is information that is unnecessary only by reading, but information received from a specific destination is desired to be stored for a long time.
The handling of received information may differ depending on the destination. A conventional communication terminal device cannot respond to such a request.

On the other hand, there has also been proposed a facsimile apparatus which includes a plurality of recording apparatuses having different recording linear densities and switches the recording apparatus in accordance with the linear density of a sent image signal. However, even with this apparatus, it was not possible to switch the recording apparatus according to the other party.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a communication terminal device capable of switching recording means according to a transmission destination. is there.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A communication terminal device according to the present invention includes communication means for communicating with a destination and a plurality of recording means for recording received information. The present invention is characterized in that information on a destination is obtained, a recording unit is selected based on the obtained information, and information received from the other party is recorded on the selected recording unit. With this, the recording means is selected according to the destination,
The received information can be recorded. For example, if a recording device of a thermal recording system and a recording device of a plain paper recording system are provided, even if the cost per page is high at the time of an incoming call from a specific destination, the recording information of the plain paper recording system is used. Can be recorded, and at the time of an incoming call from another destination, the received information can be recorded by using a recording unit of a low-cost thermal recording system.

At this time, it is assumed that the received information is recorded by, for example, a recording unit of a thermal recording system, but that the received information is required to be recorded on plain paper for preservation. In order to cope with such a request, received information recorded by a certain recording unit, for example, a recording unit of a thermal recording system is retained for a predetermined period, and if requested by a user, another recording unit, for example, a plain paper recording system is used. It is also possible to configure so that the received information can be recorded by the recording means.

[0008] The above-mentioned information on the other party can be obtained from the calling telephone number in the caller identification signal from the exchange, the information stored in the communication procedure signal from the other party's communication terminal device, and the like. Further, the communication means can hold a list of the other party in advance. For example, if the number of recording means is two, a list of destinations for selecting one of the recording means may be held. Alternatively, a list may be held in which a destination and data for identifying a recording unit to be selected are paired.

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a communication terminal apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a communication unit, 2 and 3 are recording units, 11 is a main control unit, 12 is a display operation unit, 13 is a RAM, 14 is an NCU, 15 is a modem, 16
Is an image memory, 17, 22, and 32 are interfaces,
8 is a bus, 21 is a thermal recording unit, and 31 is a plain paper recording unit.

[0010] The communication unit 1 transmits and receives information to and from a destination via a line. In particular, at the time of reception, the recording unit 2 or the recording unit 3 is selected according to the other party, and the received information is sent to the selected recording unit and recorded. The communication unit 1 includes a main control unit 11, a display operation unit 12, a RAM 13, an NCU 14,
It has a modem 15, an image memory 16, an interface 17, and the like, and these are connected by a bus 18.

The main control unit 11 controls the entire communication unit 1,
Operate each part. In particular, at the time of reception, the telephone number of the destination is obtained from the caller identification signal sent from the exchange, or the information of the destination stored in the communication procedure signal from the communication terminal device of the destination is obtained. Then, based on the acquired information such as the telephone number of the other party, either the recording unit 2 or the recording unit 3 is selected. After receiving the information sent from the other party, the received information is sent to the selected recording unit and recorded.

The display operation unit 12 can display various information such as a message to the user, a message indicating the state of the apparatus, and operation guidance. Also, the user can set the transmission / reception function and the like. Furthermore, an instruction function for selecting a recording unit may be provided so that the information that has been received and temporarily stored is recorded in another recording unit by an instruction of the user.

The RAM 13 is used when it is necessary to store data in the processing of the main control unit 11 and other units.
In addition, a program that defines the operation of the main control unit 11 and a ROM that stores fixed data and the like are also included here. The RAM 13 can hold a destination table. This destination table is a table indicating which of the recording units 2 and 3 records the received information in accordance with the destination.

The NCU 14 controls a line to communicate with a destination communication terminal device. The modem 15 modulates and demodulates image data to be transmitted and received. The image memory 16 stores image data to be transmitted, received image data, and other image data being processed.

The interface 17 connects the communication unit 1 to the recording unit 2 and the recording unit 3. For example, when the communication unit 1 and the recording unit 2 and the recording unit 3 are connected by a LAN or the like, they can be configured by a LAN adapter. Of course, it is possible to connect other than the LAN, and a corresponding interface will be used.

The recording section 2 and the recording section 3 record information sent from the communication section. The recording method of the recording unit 2 and the recording unit 3 is arbitrary, but here, as an example, the recording unit 2 has a thermosensitive recording unit 21 for recording on thermal paper, and the recording unit 3 is a normal recording unit for recording on plain paper. Paper recording unit 31
It is assumed that Interface 2
The communication unit 1 is connected to the communication unit 1 via the communication units 2 and 32. For example, when the communication unit 1 and the recording unit 2 and the recording unit 3 are connected by a LAN, both the interfaces 22 and 32 can be configured by LAN adapters. Of course, if the connection is made by other than LAN, the corresponding interface will be used. Also, an example in which there are two recording units is shown here, but three or more recording units may be present.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the destination table in the embodiment of the communication terminal device of the present invention. As described above, the destination table is stored in the RAM 13 in advance. This destination table can be configured as shown in FIG. 2, for example. In the example of the destination table shown in FIG. 2, the telephone numbers of the destinations are registered as information on the destinations, and selection information indicating which recording unit is to be used for recording is added in association with each telephone number. ing.
For example, when it is desired to normally record information received from a destination on plain paper, the selection information corresponding to the telephone number of the destination is set to “1”. Usually, "0" is set as the corresponding selection information for the other party to be recorded on the thermal paper. Thus, for the registered destination, the output destination of the received information can be set according to the destination. At the time of reception, for example, the telephone number of the destination is obtained from the caller identification signal sent from the exchange, and the destination table is searched. If the acquired telephone number is present in the destination table, reference is made to the selection information corresponding to the telephone number, and the recording unit may be selected according to the information.

When the data is received from a destination not registered in the destination table, which of the recording unit 2 and the recording unit 3 should be selected in advance. The selection information is not limited to information such as “0” and “1”, and may be any information such as an identifier set in each recording unit as long as the recording unit can be selected. In the case where there are two recording units as in this example, only information on the other party to be recorded in one of the recording units, for example, the recording unit 3, may be registered. In this case, the reception information from the destination that is not recorded may be determined in advance so that another recording unit, for example, the recording unit 2 is selected. For information about the recipient,
Not limited to phone numbers. When acquiring the information of the other party stored in the communication procedure signal from the communication terminal apparatus of the other party, the acquired information of the other party may be registered.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the communication terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
After detecting the incoming call from the other party in S41, the communication unit 1 acquires the calling telephone number from the caller identification signal sent from the exchange in S42. Depending on the other party, it may be set so that the calling telephone number is not sent. In this case, the calling telephone number cannot be obtained, but the process is continued.

The communication section 1 sends a digital identification signal (DIS) to the other party in S43. Since the other party returns the transmitting terminal identification signal (TSI), this is returned to S44.
To receive. When the calling telephone number cannot be obtained, or regardless of whether or not the calling telephone number has been obtained, information on the other party for switching the recording unit can be obtained from the transmitting terminal identification signal (TSI). S
After receiving a digital command signal (DCS) at 45, an image is received at S46 and stored in the image memory 16.

In parallel with the reception of the image in S46 or after the reception of the image is completed, a recording unit is selected, and the received image is sent to the selected recording unit and recorded. That is, first, in S47, it is determined whether or not the calling telephone number has been acquired in S42. If the calling telephone number has been obtained, the obtained calling telephone number is set as the comparison number in S48. If the calling telephone number could not be obtained, in S49, the information on the destination obtained from the transmitting terminal identification signal (TSI) received in S44 is used as the comparison number.

At S50, the comparison number is used as a key
A destination table stored in the RAM 13 is searched. Here, it is assumed that the destination table is, for example, a table having a configuration as shown in FIG. If the comparison number exists in the destination table, reference is made to the selection information associated with the information on the destination that matches the comparison number. In the destination table shown in FIG. 2, the selection information is “0” or “1”. In S51, the value of the selection information is determined. If the value is “1”, the recording unit 3 is selected, and the received image is transferred to the recording unit 3. The recording unit 3
In S52, the plain paper recording unit 31 records an image on plain paper. After transferring the image to the recording unit 3, the communication unit 1 deletes the transferred image in S <b> 53 and releases the image memory 16. When the selection information is “0”, the recording unit 2 is selected,
The received image is transferred to the recording unit 2. The recording unit 2 executes S5
At 4, the image is recorded on the thermal paper by the thermal recording section 21.

In this way, the recording section for recording the information sent from the destination can be switched according to the destination. As a result, the other party who normally transmits information that requires only one reading does not require much durability, so that it is possible to perform recording on thermal paper that is relatively inexpensive. In addition, usually, a destination to which information to be stored is transmitted can be recorded on plain paper having high durability even if the cost is high.

When an image is transferred to the recording unit 2, the communication unit 1 holds the transferred image without erasing it. This is because the recording durability of thermal paper is low, so if there is a request to record again on plain paper with good durability,
This is to achieve this. For example, if an image to be stored is sent from a destination that normally sends an image that only needs to be read, the received image is temporarily recorded on thermal paper. However, in consideration of storability, there is a demand for recording and storing on plain paper. As described above, if there is a function of recording an image once recorded on thermal paper on plain paper again, convenience can be improved.

In order to realize such a function, the image recorded on the thermal paper in S54 is stored in the image memory 16 for a predetermined time without being erased even after the recording. In S55, it is determined whether or not re-recording by changing the recording unit is instructed from the display operation unit 12, and if not, S5 is determined.
It is determined whether or not the time is up in step S6.
5 and S56 are repeated. If it is determined in S55 that re-recording with a changed recording unit has been instructed from the display operation unit 12, in S57, the image memory 16
, And transfers the image to the recording unit 3 this time. The recording unit 3 records an image on plain paper by the plain paper recording unit 31. After transferring the image to the recording unit 3, the transferred image is deleted from the image memory 16 in S58. When the predetermined time has elapsed without re-recording with a different recording unit being instructed from the display operation unit 12, the process proceeds from S56 to S58, and the image after the predetermined time has elapsed is deleted from the image memory 16.

Here, the case where the image is transferred to the recording unit 2 for recording on the thermal paper and the image is stored in the image memory 16 has been described.
The image transferred to the image memory 1
6, and may be configured to be re-recordable later. Further, the configuration may be such that the image is erased when transferred to any of the recording units.

In the above description, the recording unit 2 and the recording unit 3
Has been described as the case of heat-sensitive recording and plain paper recording. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Any recording method can be adopted for each recording unit. For example, various recording methods such as an ink jet method, a thermal transfer method, and an electrophotographic method can be adopted for each recording unit. In addition, even if the recording unit uses the same recording method,
For example, it is also possible to provide a plurality of various recording units having different usage modes, such as a recording unit using renewable paper, a recording unit using recycled paper, and a recording unit using ordinary recording paper. Furthermore, the number of recording units is not limited to two, and three or more recording units may be provided.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, information to be recorded received via the interface 17 and the interfaces 22 and 32 is transferred to the recording unit using an external communication line such as a LAN. However, in the present invention, the connection form of such a recording unit is also arbitrary. For example, a configuration may be employed in which some or all of the plurality of recording units are connected to the bus 18 directly or via a dedicated interface.

[0029]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, it is possible to select the recording means according to the destination and record the received information. At this time, for example, if a plurality of recording means having different recording methods are provided, a recording means which records with a recording method having low storage cost but low cost is usually selected for a destination to which information which does not need to be stored is transmitted. Operating costs can be saved. Also,
In the case of a destination that transmits information that emphasizes storability, it is possible to select and record a recording unit that performs recording using a recording method with good storability.

In the present invention, such selection of the recording means is performed based on the information on the destination, for example, the telephone number of the destination, so that the destination can be reliably identified and the recording means can be switched.

Further, according to the present invention, when recording is performed by a certain recording means, information is stored for a predetermined period, and can be recorded by another recording method according to a user's request. For this reason, for example, even if information is recorded by a recording method using a recording method with poor storage characteristics, it can be recorded again by a recording method that can be stored for a long time within a predetermined period.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a destination table according to the embodiment of the communication terminal device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of the communication terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication part, 2, 3 ... Recording part, 11 ... Main control part, 12 ...
Display operation unit, 13 RAM, 14 NCU, 15 modem, 16 image memory, 17, 22, 32 interface, 18 bus, 21 thermal recording unit, 31 plain paper recording unit.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A communication system for communicating with a destination, and a plurality of recording units for recording received information, wherein the communication unit acquires information on the destination at the time of an incoming call, and based on the information, A communication terminal device, wherein a recording unit is selected, and information received from the other party is recorded on the selected recording unit. 2. At least one of said plurality of recording means
2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the recording is performed by a recording method different from the other, and the communication means selects the recording means of the recording method when an incoming call is received from a specific destination. Terminal device. 3. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein, when a certain recording device is selected and the received information is recorded, the received information is retained for a predetermined period and recorded on another recording device based on a request of a user. The communication terminal device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: