JP2002185677A - Maintenance method for facsimile equipment and communication equipment to be used for the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide the maintenance method of facsimile equipment capable of preparing a report by a portable document preparing device at the time of carrying out the maintenance of the facsimile equipment, and transmitting the report to the facsimile equipment whose maintenance is finished, and printing out the report by the facsimile equipment. SOLUTION: At the time of carrying out the maintenance of facsimile equipment 2, a service staff prepares a report by using a personal computer 4, and transmits the report through the telephone line of the facsimile equipment 2 to communication equipment 10 of a maintenance service center. The communication equipment 10 retransmits the received report to the facsimile equipment 2 after the lapse of a prescribed time, and the facsimile equipment 2 prints out the report. Therefore, the report of maintenance is prepared by using the personal computer 4 without any printer and printed out by the equipment 2 at the site.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to maintenance of a facsimile machine and a communication device used for the maintenance.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In maintenance of a facsimile machine, a report is submitted to a customer after maintenance is completed. The report can be prepared on a personal computer brought by service personnel, but a portable personal computer does not come with a printer. Therefore, it is necessary to separately send the report to the customer by facsimile or mail.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A basic problem of the present invention is that, when maintenance is performed, a report can be created using a portable document creation device without a printer, and the report can be submitted to a customer on the spot, and At the same time, the operation of the maintained facsimile machine can be checked.
~ 3). Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to transmit a report to a facsimile apparatus even when there is no telephone line other than the facsimile apparatus, and to leave the report at a service center. An additional object of the present invention is to enable a report to be transmitted to a facsimile apparatus even when there is no telephone line other than the facsimile apparatus. The problem with the communication device of the present invention is that when maintenance of the facsimile device is performed, a report is created using a portable document creation device without a printer, and the report is made on the spot using the telephone line of the facsimile device itself. The purpose of the present invention is to transmit a report to a facsimile machine and print it out, and to leave a report at the center (claim 4).

[0004]

According to the maintenance method for a facsimile apparatus of the present invention, when the facsimile apparatus is maintained,
A report is created by a portable document creation device, the report is transmitted to a facsimile device that has been maintained, and the report is printed out by the facsimile device. It is assumed that the portable document creation device does not include a printer, and is, for example, a portable personal computer or a portable word processor. The transmission is preferably facsimile transmission, but may be e-mail transmission.

[0005] Preferably, the telephone line is disconnected from the facsimile apparatus and connected to the portable document creator, and a report is transmitted from the portable document creator to the communication device at the center via the telephone line. The report received by the device is stored, the telephone line is returned to the facsimile device, and then the report stored from the communication device is transmitted to the facsimile device, thereby transmitting the report to the facsimile device (claim Item 2).

Preferably, the report is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus by connecting the portable document preparation apparatus and the facsimile apparatus with a communication cable and transmitting the report by facsimile transmission using a tonal signal. The data is transmitted from the device to the facsimile device (claim 3).

A communication device for maintenance of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention includes means for facsimile receiving a report from a portable document preparation device of a service staff and storing the report in an image memory, and transmitting the report by the portable document preparation device. Means for detecting and storing the telephone number used at the time, and means for facsimile transmitting the report to the facsimile apparatus of the stored telephone number a predetermined time after the facsimile reception. (Claim 4).

[0008]

According to the maintenance method for a facsimile apparatus of the present invention, when the facsimile apparatus is maintained, a report is created by a portable document creating apparatus such as a laptop or notebook personal computer or a word processor. . The created report is transmitted to the maintained facsimile machine, and the report is printed out from the facsimile machine. Thus, the report can be printed out using the facsimile machine itself, so that there is no need for service personnel to carry the printer. Further, since the report is printed out by the facsimile machine, the operation of the maintained facsimile machine itself can be confirmed (claim 1).

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a telephone line is disconnected from the maintained facsimile apparatus and connected to the portable document creating apparatus of the service staff, and a report is transmitted from the portable document creating apparatus to the communication apparatus at the center. The report received by the communication device is stored, and the telephone line is returned to the facsimile device. The report is received by facsimile from the communication device at the center and printed out. Therefore, even if there is no telephone line other than the facsimile machine, a report can be transmitted from the portable document creation device to the facsimile machine,
In addition, reports can be left at the center.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the portable document creating apparatus and the facsimile apparatus are connected by a communication cable such as a modular cable, and the facsimile transmission by the tonal signal is performed, for example, according to ITU-TT. Since the report is transmitted according to the communication procedure of Recommendation 30, even if there is no telephone line other than the facsimile device, the report can be transmitted from the portable document creation device to the facsimile device.

In the communication device of the present invention, the report received from the portable document creator of the service staff is stored in the image memory, and the telephone number used by the portable document creator for transmission is detected and stored. Then, the report stored in the image memory is transmitted by facsimile to the facsimile apparatus whose telephone number stored after a predetermined time has been maintained. For this reason, service personnel switched the telephone line to a portable document creation device, facsimile-transmitted the report to the communication device at the center,
Then, the telephone line is returned to the facsimile machine, and if a report is received from the center, the report can be printed out by the facsimile machine. The telephone line used can be the one attached to the facsimile machine, and the report can be left at the center.

[0012]

1 to 5 show an embodiment and its modifications. In the respective drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same components, and the description of the embodiment in FIGS. 1 to 3 also applies to the embodiment in FIGS. 4 and 5 except for the points specifically pointed out. Transmission and transmission are synonyms.

FIG. 1 shows the relationship between a facsimile machine 2 that has been maintained, a personal computer 4 brought by service personnel, and a communication device 10 at the center. The facsimile machine 2 to be maintained is a normal facsimile machine and includes an NCU (network controller), a modem, an image memory, a scanner, a recording unit, an operation / display panel, and the like. The facsimile apparatus 2 only needs to have a facsimile function, and may be a facsimile machine via a public telephone line or a facsimile machine via a network such as the Internet. Further, the facsimile apparatus 2 may have a scanner function, a copy function, a printer function, and the like in addition to the facsimile function.

The personal computer 4 is a portable personal computer such as a laptop or a notebook, and has a facsimile board 6. However, a printer is not connected to the personal computer 4 for carrying. Further, a word processor may be used instead of the personal computer 4.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a communication device provided in a service center, 12 denotes a CPU, 14 denotes an NCU, 16 denotes a modem, and 18 denotes an image memory. Reference numeral 20 denotes a telephone number detection unit which detects and stores the telephone number of the personal computer 4 when a report is transmitted by facsimile from the personal computer 4 via the facsimile board 6. Reference numeral 22 denotes a return facsimile control unit. After receiving a maintenance report from the personal computer 4, the communication device 10 transmits the report to the telephone number stored in the telephone number detection unit 20 after a predetermined time elapses. Control each part. The report received by facsimile from the personal computer 4 is stored in the image memory 18.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a timer which determines a waiting time until facsimile return of a saved report after facsimile reception of a report has been completed, and a redial interval when return facsimile cannot be performed because a line is not connected. It is to determine. 24 is a reconnection part,
In response to a signal from the timer 23, the NCU 14 and the like are controlled so that the telephone number stored in the telephone number detection unit 20 is reconnected for facsimile transmission.

When the service staff maintains the facsimile machine 2 at the customer's site, a report is created using the personal computer 4 and the telephone line originally connected to the facsimile machine 2 is disconnected to allow the personal computer 4 to maintain the report.
And transmits a report to the service center by facsimile using the telephone number of the facsimile machine 2 to the service center. Next, the telephone line is returned to the facsimile apparatus 2, and the communication apparatus 10 facsimile-transmits the report stored in the image memory 18 to the telephone number detected when receiving the facsimile communication from the personal computer 4. As a result, the report is
Is sent to the facsimile machine 2 via the communication device 10 and is printed out by the communication device 10 and the facsimile device 2.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a personal computer 4.
Shows the transmission of a report from the facsimile apparatus 2 to the facsimile apparatus 2. FIG.
As shown in (1), a report is prepared using a personal computer (step 1), and the telephone line of the facsimile apparatus is disconnected and connected to the personal computer (step 2). Next, a call is made to the communication device 10 of the center using the telephone number of the facsimile machine 2 as a calling number (step 3). At this time, upon receiving the number display information, the communication device 10 of the center detects and stores the number display information (step 4). The personal computer then sends a transmitting terminal identification signal TSI and a digital command signal DCS (step 5), and when the communication device detects the TSI and DCS, it stores the telephone number in the TSI and stores the telephone number in the DCS, for example, "".
The command "retransmit to the same telephone number after a predetermined time" is stored (step 6).

The personal computer then sends the report by facsimile (step 7), and the communication device stores the received facsimile image in the image memory and prints it out (step 8). Next, the personal computer sends a disconnection command signal DCN (step 9), and the communication device disconnects the line correspondingly (step 10). Thereafter, the service person disconnects the telephone line from the personal computer and returns to the original facsimile machine (step 11).

Turning to the algorithm of FIG.
Waits for the elapse of the waiting time determined by the timer 23. If the number display information is detected and stored, the call is made to the telephone number in the number display information. Otherwise, the telephone number in the TSI signal is used. A call is made to the number (steps 20 to 23). The facsimile apparatus 2 is connected to the original communication line, and can receive a call from the communication apparatus (step 24). The communication device sends out the facsimile image (report image) stored in the image memory, and the facsimile device prints out the image when it receives the image (steps 25 and 26). Next, the service personnel evaluates the image quality of the report printed out from the facsimile machine 2 and submits it to the customer, and at the same time confirms that the maintenance of the facsimile machine 2 has been successfully performed.

In the embodiment, a report can be transmitted from the personal computer 4 to the facsimile apparatus 2 and printed out using only the telephone line connected to the facsimile apparatus 2, and there is no need for service personnel to carry the printer. . The report can be printed out at two locations, the service center and the facsimile machine 2, and the maintenance record can be left in the service center, and the function can be checked whether the facsimile machine 2 can normally receive and print out. .

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment. Also in this embodiment, the situation where there is no communication line other than the telephone line connected to the facsimile apparatus 2 is the same. In this case, the facsimile machine 2 is activated by connecting a facsimile board or the like of the personal computer 4 to the facsimile machine 2 with the modular cable 30 and transmitting a tonal signal (for example, a CNG signal) from the facsimile board. Then, the report is transmitted by facsimile. As a tonal signal for activating the facsimile apparatus, for example, a call signal 1300 from an F network (facsimile communication network)
The Hz signal may be artificially transmitted from the facsimile board. Alternatively, the reception button of the facsimile apparatus may be operated. Therefore, in the embodiment of FIG. 4, a report can be transmitted from the personal computer 4 to the facsimile apparatus 2 and printed out using the modular cable.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a portable telephone 40 is used, a signal from the facsimile board 6 of the personal computer 4 is transmitted as a data signal to the portable telephone 40 via a data cable, and the portable telephone 40 sends the data signal to the facsimile apparatus 2. Send. Then, the report is printed out by the facsimile machine 2. However, the embodiment of FIG. 5 requires a portable terminal or the like capable of transmitting facsimile data, and lacks versatility. For this reason, each embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4 is superior to the embodiment of FIG.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a mutual relationship between a personal computer, a facsimile machine, and a communication device of a center in an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an algorithm for facsimile transmitting a report from a personal computer to a communication device at a center at the end of maintenance.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an algorithm for transmitting a report from the communication device at the center to the facsimile device in the processing after FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 2 facsimile device 4 personal computer 6 facsimile board 10 communication device 12 CPU 14 NCU 16 modem 18 image memory 20 telephone number detection unit 22 loopback facsimile control unit 23 timer 24 reconnection unit 30 modular cable 40 mobile phone

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 5C062 AA02 AA30 AB22 AB42 AC36 AC41 AC42 AC43 AC55 AF02 AF03 BA04 BB03 5K036 AA15 DD33 DD48 EE01 EE13 LL02 5K101 KK01 NN01 NN14 NN18 NN25 VV02

Claims (4)

[Claims] At the time of maintenance of a facsimile machine,
Create a report with a portable document creation device, send the report to the facsimile machine that was maintained, so that the report is printed out by the facsimile device,
Maintenance method of facsimile machine. 2. A telephone line is disconnected from the facsimile apparatus, connected to the portable document creating apparatus, and a report is transmitted from the portable document creating apparatus to the communication apparatus at the center via the telephone line. Transmitting the report to the facsimile device by returning the telephone line to the facsimile device, and thereafter transmitting the report saved from the communication device to the facsimile device. The maintenance method for a facsimile machine according to claim 1, wherein 3. A report is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus by connecting the portable document preparation apparatus and the facsimile apparatus with a communication cable and transmitting the report from the portable document preparation apparatus by facsimile transmission using a tonal signal. 2. The maintenance method for a facsimile machine according to claim 1, wherein the data is transmitted to a facsimile machine. 4. A means for facsimile receiving a report from a portable document creator of a service person and storing the report in an image memory, and detecting and storing a telephone number used by the portable document creator at the time of transmission. And a means for facsimile transmitting the report to the facsimile apparatus of the stored telephone number a predetermined time after the facsimile reception.