JP2002125107A - Communication equipment and facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily transmit information to a communication opposite party, even when many keys to select communication opposite parties are provided on a touch panel, and enhance the operability. SOLUTION: When an operator depresses a designated button (Y in a step S21) and enters a 3-digit value by ten-keys (Y is step S23), whether or not the same value is registered as a specific number in a specific number table is discriminated (step S24). When the same value is registered, (Y in a step S24), a one-touch number registered in the specific number table in cross- reference with the specific number is read (step S26), and destination information registered in a one-touch key table in cross-reference with the one-touch number is read (step S27). Then conducting operations (depression of a transmission button (not shown) or the like) (Y is a step S29) to execute facsimile transmission transmits data to a transmission opposite terminal displayed destination information to start facsimile transmission (step S30).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication apparatus and a facsimile apparatus for performing communication by specifying a communication partner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. Hei 10-200655 and Hei 11-32114 disclose a facsimile apparatus having a one-touch key capable of designating a destination of facsimile transmission by pressing one button. .
It is possible to assign and register various information such as the name of the destination in addition to the destination to the one-touch key. Conventionally, one-touch keys are generally hard keys and can be registered in several tens of destinations.

On the other hand, in recent years, a facsimile apparatus using a touch panel as an operation display unit has been used. When the one-touch key is a hard key, the number is limited.However, when a touch panel is used as the one-touch key, the number of destinations that can be registered in the one-touch key is extremely large because the one-touch key can be displayed by software. can do.

[0004]

However, if a touch panel is used as the one-touch key and the number of destinations that can be registered in the one-touch key becomes very large, it is difficult to find a destination to be transmitted by facsimile from among the many one-touch keys. There is a problem that the operation becomes difficult and the operability deteriorates.

It is an object of the present invention to improve operability even when a large number of keys for selecting a communication partner are provided on a touch panel so that a call can be easily made to the communication partner.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily send a call to a communication destination by a desired key operation in this case.
It is to improve operability.

An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily know the fact that a desired key operation has already been registered in order to register it.

An object of the present invention is to enable easy transmission to a communication partner and to automatically register a key operation for improving operability.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a communication apparatus for performing communication by specifying a communication partner, a touch panel capable of displaying a plurality of first keys and the communication partner are specified. A first storage device for storing destination information to be called in association with each of the first keys, and, when any one of the first keys is pressed, associating the first key with the first key. First reading means for reading destination information stored in the first storage device, first communication means for transmitting to a communication destination indicated by the read destination information, and a plurality of second keys. A second storage device that stores one or more patterns of key operations by the second key in association with any one of the first keys, and a second storage device that stores the second key by the second key. Key operation stored in the A second reading unit for reading the destination information corresponding to the first key associated with the key operation from the first storage device, and a communication partner indicated by the read destination information And a second communication means for transmitting to a destination.

[0010] Therefore, by performing a specific key operation with the second key, it is possible to specify a communication partner in the same manner as when the first key is pressed on the touch panel. Can be easily transmitted to the communication partner, and the operability is high.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the first aspect, a designation unit for receiving designation of the first key and an input for receiving a key operation of a desired pattern by the second key. Means, and storage means for storing the key operation in the second storage device in association with the designated first key.

Therefore, a desired key operation can be selected and registered as a specific key operation performed with the second key.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the second aspect, a determination means for determining whether a key operation received by the input means has already been stored in the second storage device. In this case, when it is determined that the information is already stored in the second storage device, a notifying means for notifying the user of the fact is provided.

Therefore, when a desired key operation is selected and registered as a specific key operation to be performed by the second key, if the operation to be registered is already registered, it is easy to know the fact. Can be.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the first aspect, a designation means for receiving designation of the first key, an input means for accepting input of the destination information, and Storage means for storing in the first storage device in association with the designated first key, wherein the second storage device stores the key operation in association with the first key in advance. It is characterized by doing.

Therefore, by registering the destination information in association with the first key, it is possible to automatically register the first key with a specific key operation using the second key.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image reading apparatus for reading an image of a document, a transmitting / receiving apparatus for transmitting image data of the read image to a communication partner and receiving image data from the communication partner. 5. The facsimile machine as a communication device according to claim 1, further comprising: an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet based on the received image data.

Therefore, the same operation and effect as the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4 can be obtained.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a facsimile machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The facsimile apparatus 1 implements the communication apparatus and the facsimile apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the main control unit 2 includes a CPU 3 for centrally controlling the entire facsimile apparatus 1 and a facsimile apparatus 1 The ROM 4 stores various control programs, a RAM 5 serving as a work area for the CPU 3, and a nonvolatile memory 6.

The operation unit 12 receives various operations from the user and displays various messages to the user. A reading unit 11 serving as an image reading device reads an image of a transmission document. The encoder 13 compression-encodes the image data of the transmission original output from the reading unit 11. The image data compressed and encoded by the encoder 13 is stored in the image memory 15. Communication control unit 17 and modem 1 that constitute a transmission / reception device
8 and an NCU (Network Control Unit) 19 transmit the image data encoded by the encoder 13 and stored in the image memory 15 to the transmission destination device via the line, and the transmission destination device. To receive transmission data. The decoder 16 converts the compression-encoded image data included in the transmission data received from the transmission partner device into the original image data. The recording unit 14, which is an image forming apparatus, forms an image on a sheet by a predetermined printing method such as an electrophotographic process based on image data received from a transmission partner device.

The operation unit 12 has a touch panel type large screen LCD. Therefore, when configuring a one-touch key that can designate a destination by pressing one button, it is necessary to prepare a larger number of keys as compared with a conventional configuration using hard keys. It becomes possible.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the touch panel portion of the operation section 12. As shown in FIG. 2, a designation button 2 for designating a destination registered in the one-touch key by a number having a specific number of digits is provided on the touch panel 21 of the operation unit 12.
2, a numeric keypad 23 for inputting the number, and a heading 2
, And a message display field 25 for displaying various messages.

The headings 24, 24,... Are used to display one-touch keys, and are registered in the selected heading 24 by selecting one of the headings 24, 24,. One-touch key 26, 2
6, ... are displayed. In the example of FIG. 2, there are six types of headings 24, and each of the headings 24, 24,... Can display twenty one-touch keys 26, 26,.

Next, the processing performed by the facsimile machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the one-touch key table 3 as the first storage device as shown in FIG.
1 is stored. One-touch number 32 and destination information 3
3 is a table that stores the information in association with No. 3. One-touch numbers 32, 32, ... are associated with one-touch keys 26, 26, .... That is, each one-touch key 2
By pressing any of 6, 26,..., A signal for specifying one of the one-touch numbers 32, 32,. The destination information 33 includes information such as the facsimile number of the destination of facsimile transmission and the name of the destination. The user can register the destination information 33 in the one-touch key table 31 in association with each of the one-touch keys 26, 26,.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, when any one of the one-touch keys 26 is pressed (Y in step S1), the CPU 3 sets the destination registered in the one-touch number 32 corresponding to the one-touch key 26. The information 33 is read from the one-touch key table 31 (step S
2) This is displayed in the message display field 25 of the touch panel 21.
(Step S3). First in step S2
Is realized. If the destination is correct, then the operator performs an operation for directly executing facsimile transmission (such as pressing a transmission button (not shown)) (Y in step S4) to display the displayed destination information. Then, a call is transmitted to the destination device to perform protocol communication with the destination device, and facsimile transmission is started (step S5). Step S5 implements first communication means. When the transmission button (not shown) is not pressed (N in step S4), and when the clear button (not shown) is pressed or a predetermined time has elapsed (Y in step S6), the display of the message display column 25 is cleared (step S6). Step S7), the process ends.

The non-volatile memory 6 also stores a specific number table 34 as a second storage device as shown in FIG. In the specific number table 34, each one-touch number 3 stored in the one-touch key table 31 is stored.
The specific numbers 35, 35,... Can be stored in association with 2, 32,.

The registration in the specific number table 34 is performed as follows. That is, the specific number is composed of, for example, a three-digit value using a number from 0 to 9 and any one of “#” and “*”. If alphabets can be entered, alphabets can be specified. As shown in FIG. 6, when the operator presses the designation button 22 (Y in step S11) and presses one of the one-touch keys 26 (Y in step S12), the operator corresponds to the pressed one-touch key 26. The registration of the specific number 35 becomes possible. The designating means is realized by step S12.
That is, after that, if a three-digit value is input using the numeric keypad 23 within a certain period of time (Y in step S13) (Y in step S14), the CPU 3 stores the same number as the specific number 35 in the specific number table 34. It is determined whether a digit value is registered (step S15). Step S1
4 implements an input unit, and step S15 implements a determination unit.

If the same three-digit value is not registered in the specific number table 34 (N in step S15), the three-digit value is associated with the one-touch number 32 corresponding to the one-touch key 26 pressed in step S12. The value is registered as a specific number 35 in the specific number table 34 (step S16). Step S16 implements a storage unit.

If the same three-digit value has been registered in the specific number table 34 (Y in step S15), a message indicating that the three-digit value has already been registered is displayed in the message display field 25 ( Step S17), Step S1
Returning to the determination at step 4, when a new three-digit value is input (Y in step S14), the processing from step S15 is performed. The notification means is realized by step S17.

If no three-digit value has been input using the numeric keypad 23 within a predetermined period of time (N in step S13), the processing is terminated.

An operator who wants to specify a destination to which facsimile transmission of a document is to be performed is operated by the operation unit 12.
Operate to specify the destination. As a means for specifying the destination, there is a means for one-touch specification by pressing the one-touch key 26 as described above, or a means for directly inputting the facsimile number of the destination by pressing the ten key 23.

If the number of registered one-touch keys 26, 26,... Is very large when specifying the destination registered in one-touch key 26, it is difficult to find one-touch key 26 corresponding to the destination to be transmitted. Will be.
Therefore, in the facsimile machine 1, the destination can be specified by the specific number 35.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the operator presses the designation button 22 (Y in step S21), and then, within a certain period of time (Y in step S22), the operator uses the numeric keypad 23 to enter a three-digit value. Upon input (Y in step S23), the process proceeds to step S24. 3 within a certain time
If no digit value has been input (N in step S22), the process ends.

When the three-digit value is input (Y in step S23), the CPU 3 determines whether or not the same value is registered as the specific number 35 in the specific number table 34 (step S24). The three-digit value is the specific number table 34
Is not registered in the operation unit 12 (N in step S24).
In the message display column 25, a message indicating that the specified specific number 35 has not been registered is displayed, and a message requesting a new input from the operator is displayed (step S25), and the process ends. .

When the specific number 35 that is the same as the three-digit value is registered in the specific number table 34 (Y in step S24), the specific number 35 is registered in the specific number table 34 in association with the specific number 35. The one-touch number 32 is read (step S26), and the one-touch number 32 is read.
The destination information 33 registered in the one-touch key table 31 is read (step S27), and the read destination information 33 is displayed in the message display column 25 (step S28). Second in step S27
Is realized. The destination information 33 includes the facsimile number and name of the destination. If the destination is correct, then the operator
By performing an operation for directly performing facsimile transmission (such as pressing a transmission button (not shown)) (Y in step S29), the displayed destination information is transmitted to the transmission partner device to perform protocol communication with the partner device. , Facsimile transmission can be started (step S3).
0). Step S30 implements the second communication means.

As described above, even if a large number of one-touch destinations are registered, by pressing a specific number, the specific destination information registered in the one-touch keys 26, 26,... Can be called. Therefore, there is no need to search for the one-touch key of the destination to be transmitted, and the facsimile machine 1 with good operability can be provided.

The registration processing of the destination information 33 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

That is, a predetermined key operation is performed on the operation unit 12 (Y in step S31), and the desired one-touch key 2
6 (Y in step S32), the destination information 33
When the destination information 33 is completely input (confirming that a predetermined key operation has been performed on the operation unit 12 to confirm the end of the input) (Y in step S33), the input information is deleted. The destination information 33 corresponding to the one-touch number 32 corresponding to the one-touch key 26 pressed in step S32 is registered in the one-touch key table 31 (step S34). The designating means is realized by step S32, the input means is realized by step S33, and the storage means is realized by step S34.

It is to be noted that the specific number 35 is registered in advance in correspondence with each one-touch number 32, 32,... Of the specific number table 34 without performing the processing shown in FIG. When inputting, a single specific number 35 may automatically and uniquely correspond to the one-touch key 26.

[0042]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by performing a specific key operation with the second key, the communication partner can be specified in the same manner as when the first key is pressed on the touch panel. Even if there are a large number of first keys, it is possible to easily send a call to the communication partner, and the operability is high.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the first aspect, a desired key operation can be selected and registered as a specific key operation performed with the second key.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to the second aspect, when a desired key operation is selected and registered as a specific key operation performed with the second key, registration is attempted. If a thing is already registered, you can easily know that fact.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the first aspect, the destination information is registered in association with the first key, so that the second information is automatically assigned to the first key. Can be registered in association with a specific key operation using the key.

The invention described in claim 5 can provide the same operation and effect as the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 4.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical connection of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a touch panel of the facsimile apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a one-touch key table of the facsimile machine.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed by the facsimile machine.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a specific number table of the facsimile machine.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a process performed by the facsimile machine.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of the same.

FIG. 8 is the same flowchart.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 facsimile device, communication device 11 image reading device 14 image forming device 21 touch panel 23 second key 26 first key 33 destination information

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A communication device for performing communication by specifying a communication partner, wherein: a touch panel capable of displaying a plurality of first keys; and destination information for specifying and calling the communication partner, each of the first keys. A first storage device that stores the first key in association with the first key, and when any one of the first keys is pressed, the first key
First reading means for reading the destination information stored in the first storage device in association with the first key, and a first transmitting means for transmitting to a communication destination indicated by the read destination information
Communication means, a plurality of second keys, and a second storage device which stores one or more patterns of key operations by the second keys in association with any one of the first keys, respectively. And when any one of the key operations stored in the second storage device is performed by the second key, the destination information corresponding to the first key associated with the key operation is written to the Second reading means for reading from the first storage device, and second reading means for transmitting to a communication destination indicated by the read destination information.
A communication device comprising: 2. A designating means for accepting designation of the first key, an input means for accepting a key operation of a desired pattern by the second key, and a first key designated by the key operation. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising: storage means for storing the information in the second storage device in association with each other. 3. A judgment means for judging whether or not the key operation received by the input means has already been stored in the second storage device, and thereby judging that the key operation has already been stored in the second storage device. 3. The communication device according to claim 2, further comprising: a notifying unit for notifying the user when the communication is performed. 4. A designating means for accepting designation of the first key, an input means for accepting input of the destination information, and associating the destination information with the designated first key. 2. A storage device for storing in a storage device, wherein the second storage device stores the key operation in advance in association with the first key.
The communication device according to claim 1. 5. An image reading apparatus for reading an image of a document, a transmitting / receiving apparatus for transmitting image data of the read image to a communication partner and receiving image data from the communication partner, and The facsimile apparatus as the communication apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a sheet.