JP2000184119A - Facsimile modem device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent useless reception owing to an erroneous call and to save power consumption in standby by providing a sub-control part for executing the temporary holding and identifying of an opposite party telephone number which is given from a network control unit(NCU part) having a ring detecting function or the like. SOLUTION: The sub-control part receiving the announcement of ring detection from the NCU part 6 temporarily holds the opposite partly telephone number which is transmitted from a telephone line 10. In the case the opposite party telephone number coincides with one of authorized telephone numbers stored in a storage part 9, the sub-control part 8 transmits a recovery request interrupting signal from a power saving work state to a normal power work state to a power control part 3. An information processing part 1 recovered into the normal power work state confirms that ring detection is under execution or not, starts a FAX data receiving application, connects the telephone line 10 and executes FAX data reception.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a fax modem device, and more particularly to a technique for reducing power consumption during reception standby.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an information processing terminal such as a personal computer having a built-in fax modem device cannot use a fax data receiving function unless the information processing terminal itself is in a normal operating state. As a result, the power consumption of the information processing terminal in the communication standby state in the normal operation state increases, which results in an increase in the running cost. Various power management methods for reducing the power consumption have been proposed. Have been.

As one of them, there is one utilizing what is called a suspend / resume function of an information processing terminal. FIG. 5 shows a configuration of a power management method according to a conventional technique. The configuration of the information processing terminal includes an information processing unit 1 that executes various processes, a facsimile modem device 2 that is built in the terminal and is connected to the information processing unit 1 via an expansion bus, and manages power in the operating state of the terminal. It has a power control unit 3 to be executed, a display device 4 such as a display, and an input device 5 such as a keyboard.

The facsimile modem device 2 has a network control unit having a dial transmission function and an analog / digital conversion function associated with data communication via the telephone line 10, and a ring detection function for detecting a call to its own station. (Hereinafter abbreviated as NCU unit) 6, a modem control unit 7 for executing data communication processing in accordance with a command from the information processing unit 1 in a normal operation state
have.

When the NCU 6 detects a ringing tone (ring) from the telephone line 10, an interrupt signal is sent to the power control unit 3. Power control unit 3 that received the interrupt signal
Restores (resumes) the information processing terminal that has been waiting for communication in the power saving operation state (suspend) to the normal operation state. Fax modem device 2 returned to normal operation
Connects the telephone line 10 and receives facsimile data in accordance with an instruction from the information processing section 1. In this way, power consumption during communication standby is reduced.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has a problem that even when there is no data to be received, such as a wrong telephone call, the system returns to the normal operating state and executes the receiving process. The reason is that a return request interrupt signal to the normal operation state is generated by detecting the ring.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and prevents unnecessary reception processing due to an erroneous telephone call by identifying the other party number when detecting a ring of a telephone line, thereby reducing power consumption during reception standby. It is an object of the present invention to provide a fax modem device that can reduce the number of fax machines.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a network having a dial originating function, an analog / digital converting function, and a ring detecting function for detecting a call to a local station accompanying data communication via a telephone line. A control unit (NCU unit), a modem control unit that executes data communication processing in accordance with instructions from the information processing unit of the information processing terminal, a storage unit that records a plurality of arbitrarily set authorized telephone numbers, and the NCU unit And a sub-control unit for executing temporary processing and identification processing of the other party's telephone number passed from the information processing terminal provided in the information processing terminal.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the identification processing by the sub-control unit, when a call to the own station is made, the other party's telephone number is compared with the authorized telephone number, and the matching result is obtained. 2. The fax modem device according to claim 1, wherein an interrupt signal is transmitted to the power control unit when the values match.

The invention according to a third aspect is characterized in that the modem control unit switches from a power saving standby state to a normal operation state and executes a data communication process under the control of the power control unit by the interrupt signal. A fax modem device according to claim 1 or 2.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a second storage unit capable of storing a plurality of reception history telephone numbers is provided, and when a predetermined number of calls are made from the same telephone number, the sub-control unit controls the power consumption. 4. A fax modem device according to claim 1, wherein an interrupt signal is transmitted to a control unit.

As described above, upon receiving the ring detection notification from the NCU unit, the sub-control unit temporarily stores the other party's telephone number and searches the authorized telephone number list stored in the storage unit for a search. When the search is executed and the search results match, the sub control unit sends an interrupt signal to the power control unit. The power control unit returns the various processing units that have been in the power saving operation state to the normal operation state, and the fax modem device that has returned to the normal operation state starts reception processing according to a command from the information processing unit. As a result, it is possible to prevent a return from the power saving operation state due to a wrong telephone call, and to reduce power consumption during reception standby.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing terminal such as a personal computer including a fax modem device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the information processing terminal includes an information processing unit 1 that executes various processes, a facsimile modem device 2 that is built in the terminal and is connected to the information processing unit 1 via an expansion bus, and manages power in the operating state of the terminal. It has a power control unit 3 to be executed, a display device 4 such as a display, and an input device 5 such as a keyboard. The power control unit 3, the display device 4, and the input device 5 are connected to the information processing unit 1.
Is connected to the fax modem device 2 using a modular jack or the like.

The configuration of the fax modem apparatus 2 includes an NCU having a dial originating function, an analog / digital converting function, and a ring detecting function for detecting a call to its own station accompanying data communication via the telephone line 10.
A modem control unit 7 for executing data communication processing in accordance with a command from the information processing unit 1 in a normal operation state; receiving a ring detection notification from the NCU unit 6 in a power saving operation state; A sub-control unit 8 for executing a proper holding and identification process, and a storage unit 9 capable of recording a list of authorized telephone numbers arbitrarily set by a terminal manager.

From the power saving operation state during communication standby,
A return request interrupt signal to the normal operation state for executing the receiving process is output from the sub control unit 8 to the power control unit 3. The storage unit 9 is connected to the sub-control unit 8, and processing on the storage unit 9 such as updating the list of authorized telephone numbers in the normal operation state is executed via the sub-control unit 8. Storage unit 9
Is constituted by a nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory so that the recorded contents are retained even when the power is turned off.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. 1 and the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S1 (hereinafter abbreviated as S1) in FIG. 2, the reception standby NCU 6 in the power saving operation state determines whether a call is being made to its own station, that is, whether a ring has occurred. Monitoring. Upon receiving the ring detection notification from the NCU 6, the sub-controller 8 temporarily stores the other party's telephone number transmitted from the telephone line 10 (S2).

The sub control unit 8 executes a comparison search between the authorized telephone number recorded in the storage unit 9 and the other party's telephone number (S3). As a result of the search, when the other party's telephone number matches one of the authorized telephone numbers, the sub control unit 8 sends a return request interrupt signal from the power saving operation state to the normal operation state to the power control unit 3 (S4). ). As a result of the search, if the other party's telephone number does not match any of the authorized telephone numbers, the sub-control unit 8 determines that the call is due to an incorrect telephone call, and the ring until the other party disconnects the line. Is ignored and the standby state is maintained (S9).

The power control unit 3 which has received the return request interrupt signal from the sub control unit 8 returns the information processing terminal shown in FIG. 1 from the power saving operation state to the normal operation state (S5).
The information processing unit 1 that has returned to the normal operation state checks whether ring detection is continuing (S6). If the ring detection is ongoing, the information processing unit 1 starts the fax data receiving application and connects the telephone line 10 (S
7) Execute the receiving process of the facsimile data (S8).

In the continuation confirmation of the ring detection, (S
6) If the ring has been completed during the process of returning from the initial ring detection (S1) to the normal operation state (S5), the information processing unit 1 immediately controls the power to return to the power saving operation state. The power control unit 3 issues a command to the unit 3 and receives the instruction.
Shifts the information processing terminal shown in FIG. 1 to the power saving operation state (S10).

The process of updating the list of authorized telephone numbers is executed in a normal operation state. The authorized telephone number input to the information processing unit 1 by the input device 5 is recorded in the storage unit 9 via the modem control unit 7 and the sub-control unit 8 according to a command from the information processing unit 1.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Referring to FIG. 3, in addition to a storage unit 9 for storing a list of authorized telephone numbers, a second storage unit 11 for storing reception history telephone numbers is provided.
The second storage unit 11 can record a plurality of reception history telephone numbers. Further, the second storage unit 11 does not need to hold the recorded content when the power is turned off, and may be configured by a volatile memory such as a static memory.

The operation of another embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The operations shown in S11, S12, and S13 in FIG. 4 are the same as the operations in S1, S2, and S3 shown in FIG. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 1, if the other party's phone number does not match the authorized phone number, the call was ignored. In this embodiment,
In such a case, the sub control unit 8 records the held telephone number in the second storage unit 11 as the latest received telephone number (S14).

The sub-control unit 8 compares the telephone number recorded in the reception history with the telephone number held to determine whether or not a certain degree of continuity is recognized (S1).
5). If continuity is recognized, the process proceeds to S4 in FIG. The description of the subsequent processing is omitted. If the continuity is not recognized, the process proceeds to S9 in FIG. The description of the subsequent processing is omitted.

In the present embodiment, the information processing terminal administrator
Even if the authorized telephone number is set incorrectly or the data in the storage unit 9 is destroyed for some reason, by expecting the retry processing of the other party's fax machine, it is possible to receive a necessary data. There is a new effect that loss can be prevented.

Although the operation of one embodiment of the present invention and other embodiments has been described in detail with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and does not depart from the gist of the present invention. Even a change in the design of the range is included in the present invention. For example, in another embodiment of the present invention, an independent second storage unit may not be provided, and the storage unit may be divided into an authorized telephone number recording space and a reception history telephone number recording space and two memory spaces. .

[0026]

As described so far, the first effect of the present invention is that not only the ring detection but also the identification of the other party's telephone number are performed as a cause of the return from the power saving operation state. By preventing the process of recovering from unnecessary power saving operation by phone and the process of receiving data,
This means that power consumption during reception standby can be reduced.

The second effect is that the administrator of the information processing terminal can
Even if the authorized telephone number is set incorrectly or the data in the storage unit is destroyed for some reason, expecting the retry processing of the other party's fax machine will reduce the chance of receiving the necessary data. It is possible to prevent.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing terminal such as a personal computer provided with a fax modem device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an information processing terminal such as a personal computer provided with a fax modem device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an information processing terminal such as a personal computer including a fax modem device according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Information processing part 2 ... Fax modem device 3 ... Power control part 4 ... Display device 5 ... Input device 6 ... NCU part 7 ... Modem control part 8 ... Sub-control part 9 ... Storage part 10 ... Telephone line 11 ... Second storage Department

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Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A network control unit (NCU unit) having a dial originating function, an analog / digital converting function, and a ring detecting function for detecting a call to its own station accompanying data communication via a telephone line, and information on an information processing terminal. A modem control unit for executing a data communication process in accordance with an instruction from a processing unit; a storage unit for recording a plurality of arbitrarily set authorized telephone numbers; and a temporary storage of a destination telephone number passed from the NCU unit And a sub-controller for executing an identification process. 2. The identification process by the sub-control unit, when a call to the own station is made, the other party's telephone number and the authorized telephone number are collated, and when the collation results match, the power control unit 2. The fax modem device according to claim 1, wherein an interrupt signal is transmitted to the fax modem. 3. The data communication process according to claim 1, wherein the modem control unit switches from a power saving standby state to a normal operation state under the control of the power control unit by the interrupt signal to execute a data communication process. A fax modem device as described. 4. A second storage unit capable of storing a plurality of reception history telephone numbers, wherein the sub control unit sends an interrupt signal to the power control unit when a predetermined number of calls are made from the same telephone number. The fax modem device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: