JP2000270076A - Communication device, its control method, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a communication device with an automatic redialing function to securely communicate by implementing the automatic redialing function and automatically copying in the case where an opposite party is still busy even after redialing is repeated up to a specific limit frequency. SOLUTION: When a number is dialed for automatic transmission and BT indicating that an opposite party is busy is detected, redialing is repeated at intervals of two minutes up to three times until the opposite party is connected (S201-S212). If the BT is still detected on the 3rd redialing, a busy state investigating process is performed (S216) on condition that the process is not completed (S213) and effective settings are made (S214). In this process, a communication for requesting busy-state investigation service of the NTT(Nippon Telegraph and Telephone corporation) is made and then the connection part is redialed (S202-).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication device for performing communication via a telephone line network and having an automatic redial function, a control method thereof, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the control program. Things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a facsimile apparatus having an automatic redial function has been known as a communication apparatus of the type described above. In this facsimile apparatus, after a dial call is made manually or automatically, for a T1 time (about 35 seconds specified by CCITT standard T30), a partner procedure signal (for example, a DIS signal) and a connection partner (a communication partner) )
BT (busy tone) indicating that the line is busy. During the monitoring of the T1 time, when a procedure signal is detected, facsimile communication is performed. When BT is detected, it is determined that the connection partner is busy (communicating), and the connection partner is limited to a preset number of times. Redial calls are made at predetermined waiting time intervals until the connection is established.

[0003]

By the way, in the above-mentioned facsimile apparatus, when a dial call is made for the first time,
Alternatively, when a redial call is made, only the BT comes from the communication network even when the other party's facsimile apparatus is not communicating and the handset of the attached telephone is simply off-hook, that is, in the so-called off-hook state. , Whether the other party is busy or just off-hook,
Cannot be distinguished.

[0004] For this reason, conventionally, even when the receiver of the other party's telephone is simply taken off-hand, it is regarded as busy and redialing is performed up to a preset number of times. However, since the other party is left unattended with the receiver off, connection cannot be established even if redialing is performed, and after dialing up the set number of times, it is displayed on the LCD that the other party is busy. , A transmission result report, or a communication management report.

[0005] Further, the receiver of the destination telephone is returned to its original state.
Since it is not possible to urge the user to go into a so-called on-hook state, even if facsimile communication is attempted again, it is also determined that the telephone is busy, the original cannot be transmitted normally, and the facsimile is not noticed until the other party notices and returns the receiver to the original state. There was a problem that communication was not possible.

[0006] On the other hand, a service provided by NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation) includes a busy telephone number. In this service, it is not only whether the communication partner is busy, but also that the receiver is simply disconnected. A check is performed, and when the receiver is merely disconnected, a process of sounding a warning sound for urging the receiver to return to the telephone is performed.

However, in the conventional facsimile apparatus, after the user recognizes that the communication has failed by the communication management report or the transmission result report, it is simply determined whether or not the handset of the partner apparatus is simply disconnected. In order to check, the user himself had to make a telephone call for a busy investigation service, and then again perform facsimile communication with the communication partner. In this,
It is troublesome and time-consuming for the user and very troublesome.
Also, a user who does not know the existence of the busy investigation service cannot cope.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is not limited to a facsimile apparatus, but a communication apparatus which performs communication via a telephone network and has an automatic redial function. It is an object of the present invention to automatically cope with a case where a connection destination is busy using a line even after a call is made, so that communication can be reliably performed.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a communication apparatus having an automatic redial function in a communication apparatus for performing communication via a telephone line network, a control method thereof, and a control thereof. A computer-readable recording medium storing the program, executing the automatic redial function, and operating a telephone line network if the connection destination is still in use even after redialing up to a predetermined number of times; Investigate whether the other party is communicating or is simply off-hook state, and if it is just off-hook state, perform communication to request a service that prompts the other party to go on-hook state. Control, and then control is again made to redial the connection destination.

[0010] In this way, if the connection destination is in use even if the automatic redial function is executed and the redial is made up to the predetermined number of times, the above service is provided. If the busy state is merely an off-hook state, processing is performed to prompt the other party to go on-hook state. Therefore, in this case, if the connection partner is set to the on-hook state in accordance with the above-described processing, then, by redialing the connection partner again, communication can be reliably performed.

Further, according to the present invention, the automatic redial function is further executed, and whether or not to perform the above-mentioned control when the connection partner is busy using the line even if the redial call is made up to a predetermined number of times. Is set in advance, or a time zone in which the control is performed is set in advance, or whether or not the control is performed is set in advance for each connection destination.

In this way, the above control can be performed as needed, according to a time zone, or according to a connection partner.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Here, an embodiment in a facsimile apparatus will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a ROM
(Read only memory) The entire device is controlled in accordance with the contents of the control program stored in the memory 102. ROM1
02 corresponds to an embodiment of a computer-readable recording medium storing a control program for a communication device according to the present invention.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, an image of a document is read by a contact sensor (CS) 111, compression-coded through a read control gate array (R-CNT) 110, and stored in an image memory (DRAM) 109.
At the same time, reception number, destination (connection destination) information,
Recording management information such as the number of pages, stored image memory block information, resolution, and image size is stored in the first RAM 104. The image information stored in the image memory 109 and the first
The record management information and the like stored in the RAM 104
01 when there is a recording request, the recording control gate array (W
-CNT) 112 and recorded on recording paper by a laser beam printer (LBP) 113.

When a transmission request is issued from the CPU 101, the image information stored in the image memory 109 is transmitted to the CPU 101.
101 is compression-encoded in accordance with the mode of the partner device, and modulated-demodulator (MODEM) 114 performs PM-
After AM modulation, the network control unit (NCU) 1
The data is output to a communication line (telephone line) through the line 15.

The image data received through the communication line is input to a modulation / demodulation unit 114 through a network control unit 115, demodulated by the modulation / demodulation unit 114 and decompressed and decoded by the CPU 101 to check for image errors and correct the image data. For example, after being compression-encoded by the CPU 101, it is stored in the image memory 109. With it, the first
Management information is stored in the RAM 104.

The modulation demodulator 114 detects a control signal of a single frequency defined by T30 of CCITT and a tonal signal such as DT (dial tone) and BT at the time of calling.

When the operator presses various keys on a keyboard (KEY) 108, which is information input means provided on the operation panel, various instructions, settings and information can be input. The contents of the instruction, the setting, and the input information are stored and held in the second RAM 105, and can be confirmed by being displayed on a display unit (LCD) 107 provided on the operation panel. In this case, C
PU 101 is an operation panel control gate array (OP-C
NT) 106 to detect key input data from the keyboard 108 and display the necessary data on the display unit 107. Further, in the standby state, the CPU 101 obtains the current date from the information from the RTC (real-time clock) 103,
The time and the like are obtained and displayed on the display unit 107.

It is to be noted that, by inputting a specific key operation on the keyboard 108, it is set in advance whether or not the CPU 101 will control the later-described busy investigation process, or a time period during which the busy investigation process will be performed. Alternatively, whether or not to perform the busy investigation process can be set for each destination (connection destination), and the setting information is the second R
It is stored and held in the AM 105.

Next, the operation of the facsimile apparatus having the above configuration at the time of automatic transmission including the execution of the above-described automatic redial function will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the CPU 101 at the time of automatic transmission including execution of the automatic redial function. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a detailed control procedure of the busy investigation process in FIG. Figure 2
In "3" and the following description, "S" indicates "step". In addition, it is assumed that the flow is continuous between the portions 1 encircled in FIGS. Control programs corresponding to the control procedures of FIGS. 2 and 3 are stored in the ROM 102 and executed by the CPU 101.

First, the operation at the time of automatic transmission will be described with reference to FIG. In the automatic transmission control routine shown in FIG. 2, a document to be transmitted by a user is placed on a document table provided with an automatic document feed mechanism of the present apparatus, and a destination (connection destination) is operated by a keyboard 108.
Is pressed, and the transmission start key on the keyboard 108 is pressed, and the contact sensor 111 and the read control gate array 110 read a predetermined amount of the image of the document, or after the reading is completed,
It is started by U101. The telephone number of the destination input by the keyboard 108 is registered in the first RAM 104.

When the automatic transmission routine starts, first, C
The PU 101 sets the limit number of redials (three times) registered in the first RAM 104 in advance as the redial count (S201).

Next, the line is captured by turning on the CML relay of the NCU 115 (S202), and the first RAM 1
Dialing out the destination registered in S04 (S20)
3) Set the T1 timer to 35 seconds (S20)
4).

In S205, the facsimile signal, specifically, the CED signal or the DED
It is determined whether or not an IS signal has been detected.
Facsimile communication is performed (S206), and image data of the document is transmitted.

On the other hand, if no facsimile signal is detected in S205, it is determined whether or not BT indicating that the destination (connection destination) device is using the line is detected by the modulation / demodulator 114 (S207). If the BT has not been detected, the process proceeds to S208, and if the BT has been detected, the process proceeds to S20.
Go to 9.

In S208, it is determined whether or not the time of the T1 timer has expired. If the time has not elapsed, the flow returns to S205 to detect a facsimile signal (S20).
5) and BT detection (S207) are repeated until the T1 timer times out.

When the BT is detected in S207 and when S20
If it is determined in step 8 that the T1 timer has expired, the flow advances to step S209 to release the line and decrement the value of the redial count by one (S210).

At S211, it is determined whether or not the redial count is greater than 0. If the redial count is greater than 0, the wait state is maintained for the redial interval time (for example, 2 minutes) registered in the first RAM 104 in advance. (S212) Thereafter, by proceeding to S202, the automatic redial process is executed.

On the other hand, at S211, the redial count is 0.
If it is determined that the value is not larger than 0 (it is 0), the other party's line indicated by the BT is in an off-hook state in which the line is not actually busy (during communication) but simply the handset of the attached telephone is off-hook. Because of the possibility of just doing a busy investigation process. Before that, first, in S213, it is determined whether or not the busy investigation process has already been performed on the other party. If the busy investigation process has already been performed, the process proceeds to error processing (S215).

If it is determined in step S213 that the busy investigation process has not been performed, the process advances to step S214.
Whether the busy survey process is enabled, that is, whether the busy survey process is set, the busy survey process is set for this partner, or the current busy survey process Is determined based on the setting information registered in advance in the second RAM 105 based on the setting information registered in the second RAM 105. If the busy process is not valid, the process proceeds to the error process of S215, and the busy survey is performed. When the processing is valid, the busy investigation processing in S216 is performed.

In the error processing of S215, the fact that the other device is busy is stored in the first RAM 104 as information described in the communication management report or the transmission result report, and the record output of the communication management report or the transmission result report is stored. This is performed by the laser printer 113.

Next, the details of the busy investigation process in S216 of FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. As described above, if the redial count is determined to be 0 in S211 of FIG. 2 and it is determined in S213 and S214 that the busy investigation process has not been performed yet and is valid, the busy investigation process of S216 is activated. Specifically, the operation is performed as follows in the procedure of FIG.

First, the line is captured (S301), and the NTT
A dialing call is made to the busy survey telephone number (No. 114) for requesting the busy survey service provided by NTT (S302).

When dialing the busy investigation telephone number (No. 114), an automatic voice guide is played, and a dial tone is generated as a signal to prompt the user to dial in the telephone number of the other party to be investigated whether the telephone is busy. . For this reason, until the modulation tone is detected by the modulation demodulator 114 or the silent state after the tone is detected by the modulation demodulator 114, a wait state in which the dialing of the other party's telephone number is awaited is waited ( S303).

Then, the above-mentioned beep sound, or
When the modulator / demodulator 114 detects a silent state after the dial tone, the redialed destination telephone number is dialed (S
304). In response, NTT checks to see if the other party is talking or is simply off-hook with the handset off-hook. During this time, the apparatus waits for a predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) until it is determined whether the other party is talking or whether the handset is simply taken off (S30).
5) Then, the line is released (S306).

If the receiver of the partner machine only comes off during the wait state in S305, a signal of a warning sound is issued from the exchange to the partner machine so as to urge the partner machine to put the receiver on the telephone and put the receiver on hook. .

It takes a certain amount of time before the receiver of the other party is actually put on the telephone according to the warning sound.
After S306, a wait state of, for example, about 5 minutes until the handset is securely placed on the telephone (S3).
07) Then, in order to redial again, S
Proceeding to 202, the above-described redial processing is repeated.

As described above, in the present embodiment, if a BT indicating that the other party is using the line is detected by dialing for automatic transmission and the BT indicating that the connection destination is busy, the automatic transmission is limited to three times. For example, if the BT is detected and the connection destination is busy using the redial call every two minutes until the connection is established with the connection destination, and the redial call is made up to three times, the connection is set to valid or not. In response, the above-described busy investigation process is performed, and communication for requesting a busy investigation service to NTT is performed. Therefore, at this time, if the line being used by the connection partner is merely in the off-hook state, it is possible to cause the connection partner to generate a warning sound to urge the connection partner to enter the on-hook state. Then, after that, by redialing the connection destination again, the communication can be reliably performed without bothering the user.

In the above, the embodiment of the facsimile apparatus has been described. However, the above-described control technology relating to the automatic redialing according to the present invention can be applied to other communication apparatuses that communicate via a telephone line network, such as a computer. Of course.

[0041]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, in a communication apparatus which performs communication via a telephone line network and has an automatic redial function, the communication apparatus executes the automatic redial function, and If the other party is still using the line even after redialing up to the predetermined number of times, check with the telecommunications carrier operating the telephone network to determine whether the other party is communicating or is simply off-hook. In the off-hook state, communication is performed to request a service for performing a process of prompting the other party to enter the on-hook state. To perform an on-hook state. Then, after that, by redialing the connection destination again, the communication can be reliably performed without bothering the user.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure at the time of automatic transmission including execution of an automatic redial function in the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed control procedure of a busy state investigation process in FIG. 2;

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 CPU 102 ROM 103 Real-time clock (RTC) 104 First RAM 105 Second RAM 106 Operation panel control gate array (OP_CNT) 107 Display unit (LCD) 108 Keyboard (KEY) 109 Image memory (DRAM) 110 Reading control Gate array (R_CNT) 111 Contact sensor (CS) 112 Recording control gate array (W_CNT) 113 Laser printer (LBP) 114 Modulation demodulator (MODEM) 115 Network controller (NCU)

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A communication device for communicating via a telephone line network, wherein, when a dial-up call is made and the connection partner is busy, the communication device automatically communicates with the connection partner up to a predetermined number of times. In a communication device having an automatic redial function of making a redial call at a predetermined time interval until connected, the automatic redial function is executed, and even if the connection destination is in use even after redialing the predetermined number of times, A service that prompts a telecommunications carrier operating a telephone line network to check whether the other party is communicating or is merely in an off-hook state and, if it is just in an off-hook state, to prompt the other party to go on-hook. Communication for requesting a connection, and thereafter, control means for controlling again to make a redial call to the connection destination. Location. 2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for setting in advance whether said control means performs said control. 3. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said control means has means for presetting a time zone in which said control is performed. 4. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for setting in advance whether said control means performs said control for each connection destination. 5. A communication device for performing communication via a telephone line network, wherein when a connection destination is in use of a line by dialing, the communication device automatically communicates with the connection destination up to a predetermined number of times. A method for controlling a communication device having an automatic redial function for redialing a call at predetermined time intervals until a connection is established, wherein the automatic redialing function is executed, and even if the predetermined number of redial calls is made, the connection partner is still using the line. In some cases, a process that prompts the telecommunications carrier operating the telephone line network to determine whether the connection partner is communicating or is merely in an off-hook state, and if the connection partner is merely in an off-hook state, to prompt the connection partner to enter an on-hook state A communication for requesting a service for performing the communication, and thereafter performing control again to make a redial call to the connection destination. Your way. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein whether to perform the control is set in advance. 7. The control method according to claim 5, wherein a time zone for performing the control is set in advance. 8. The method according to claim 5, wherein whether to perform the control is set in advance for each connection destination. 9. A communication device for performing communication via a telephone line network, wherein when a connection destination is busy using a dial call, the communication device automatically communicates with the connection destination up to a predetermined number of times. A computer-readable recording medium storing a control program for a communication device having an automatic redial function for redialing at a predetermined time interval until a connection is established, wherein the automatic redialing function is executed and redialing is performed up to the predetermined number of times. However, if the other party is busy, check with the telecommunications carrier operating the telephone network to see if the other party is communicating or is simply off-hook. A communication for requesting a service for performing a process of prompting the other party to enter an on-hook state is performed, and thereafter, the communication is performed again with the other party. Recording medium characterized by storing a control program for controlling so as to dial a call. 10. The recording medium according to claim 9, wherein a control program for setting in advance whether or not to perform the control is stored. 11. The recording medium according to claim 9, wherein a control program for presetting a time zone for performing said control is stored. 12. The recording medium according to claim 9, wherein a control program for previously setting whether or not to perform the control for each connection destination is stored.