JP2003060865A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide facsimile equipment on which a discrimination means for discriminating the cause of an error when the error occurs in facsimile communication is provided and also to provide a discrimination means which easily discriminates the cause of the errors in facsimile communication from a large amount of data even when a large amount of errors occur in facsimile communication. SOLUTION: The facsimile equipment is provided with a storage means for storing a sound signal on a line in facsimile communication when facsimile communication is not normally ended or provided with a converting means for converting the sound signal on the line in facsimile communication into encoding data, a temporary storage means for storing encoding data which is converted by the converting means and a storage means for storing encoding data stored in the temporary storage means when facsimile communication is not normally ended in the case of facsimile communication completion.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine, and more particularly to a facsimile machine capable of determining the cause when an error occurs during facsimile communication.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In facsimile communication, the communication may not end normally for some reason.

In order to determine the reason why the facsimile communication is not normally completed, there is a method of outputting the response status of the protocol during the facsimile communication in a list and determining the cause.

However, if it is not a protocol problem, it is difficult to determine the cause.

As another method, there is a method in which the operator directly outputs the voice on the line at the time of facsimile communication to a speaker to determine the voice.

However, it is not realistic for the operator to constantly monitor the voice on the line beside the apparatus during facsimile communication.

Further, it is not easy for all operators to judge the cause of abnormal termination from the voice on the line.

[0008]

Therefore, the first aspect of the present invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus that can provide means for determining the cause when an error occurs during facsimile communication.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a judging means capable of easily judging the cause of an error during facsimile communication from a large amount of data even if a large number of errors occur during facsimile communication. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile device capable of performing the above.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile apparatus capable of easily determining the cause of an error during facsimile communication from a large amount of data even if a large number of errors occur during facsimile communication. Is to provide.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the invention according to claim 1 is for performing facsimile communication when the facsimile communication is not normally completed. And a storage means for storing a voice signal on the line.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a converting means for converting a voice signal on a line during facsimile communication into encoded data, a temporary storage means for storing the encoded data converted by the converting means, and a facsimile. A facsimile device comprising: a storage unit for storing the encoded data stored in the temporary storage unit when the communication is not normally terminated at the end of the communication.

According to a third aspect of the invention, an operating means for designating reproduction of a voice signal of facsimile communication which has not been normally completed, a decoding means for decoding the encoded data stored in the storage means, and 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit that outputs the encoded data decoded by the decoding unit as a voice signal.

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the facsimile apparatus of the present invention with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a CPU, and a ROM
2, first RAM 3, second RAM 4, operation unit 5, display unit 6, reading unit 7, output unit 8, non-volatile storage device 9, modem 1
0, encoder 11, decoder 12, NCU 13, voice amplifier 14, and speaker 15 are controlled.

The ROM 2 is a memory that stores a control program that is the basis for the CPU 1 to perform control.

The first RAM 3 is a memory for operating the control program stored in the ROM 2.

The second RAM 4 corresponds to the temporary storage means of the present invention, and temporarily stores the coded data obtained by converting the audio signal by the encoder 11 corresponding to the conversion means of the present invention. Yes, and preferably provided.

In this embodiment, the RAM is the first RAM 3
And the second RAM 4 will be described separately. The first RA
The M3 and the second RAM 4 may be provided as one.

The operating section 5 corresponds to the operating means of the present invention,
This is for specifying the reproduction of the voice signal of the facsimile communication which has not been normally completed, and is preferably provided.
As the operation unit 5, for example, an input device such as a tact switch can be used.

In the present invention, facsimile communication means
Sending and receiving pictures and characters as dot images via telephone lines. In this specification, particularly in such facsimile communication, when transmitting, it is referred to as facsimile transmission, when receiving, it is referred to as facsimile reception, and the data transmitted and received is referred to as facsimile data.

The display unit 6 displays "in communication", "communication completed",
A plurality of facsimile communications are displayed in order to display the state of the facsimile such as “outputting received data” or to facilitate the selection of the facsimile communications related to the playback designation when the playback is designated on the operation unit 5. Or

The reading unit 7 optically reads a document to be transmitted when performing facsimile transmission, for example, a CCD,
The image input device includes an image sensor such as a CIS and an image processing IC.

When receiving a facsimile, the output unit 8 prints the received facsimile data on a recording medium such as paper or transfers it to a communicably connected computer or the like.

The non-volatile storage device 9 corresponds to the storage means of the present invention, and stores the voice signal on the line at the time of the facsimile communication or the temporary storage when the communication is not normally terminated at the end of the facsimile communication. Second RAM that is means
The encoded data stored in 4 is stored.

The nonvolatile memory device 9 may have a structure capable of storing analog audio signals or a structure capable of storing digital encoded data. When storing an analog audio signal, an analog data recording means such as a tape recorder can be used, and when storing digital encoded data, the written data remains even if the power is turned off. A non-erasable, non-volatile memory, magnetic disk storage device, or the like can be used.

The modem 10 is a modulator and demodulator of facsimile data for facsimile communication.

The encoder 11 corresponds to the conversion means of the present invention and converts a voice signal (analog data) on the line during facsimile communication into coded data (digital data).

The voice signal on the line during the facsimile communication is a signal in the voice band from the other party's terminal equipment, a line switch, etc., which is exchanged between the facsimile apparatus performing the communication operation and the telephone line. Is. That is, not only the signals exchanged by the facsimile machine on the transmitting / receiving side during normal facsimile communication, but also signals from the exchange such as busy tone (busy tone), or when a telephone call was made even though it was intended to be a facsimile. It also includes all the voices such as human voice when calling from a telephone to a facsimile.

The decoder 12 corresponds to the decoding means of the present invention, and converts the encoded data, which is digital data stored in the storage means relating to the facsimile communication designated by the operation unit 5 which is the operation means, into analog data. Decrypt.

When the coded data is decoded by the decoder 12, it returns to the voice signal on the line during the facsimile communication before being converted by the encoder 11 which is the conversion means.

The NCU 13 uses a general subscriber line,
It sends dial signals to telephone lines and controls incoming calls. The NCU 13 is, for example, a network control unit.
Can be used, but is not particularly limited.

The voice amplifier 14 amplifies a voice signal on the line during facsimile communication or a voice signal decoded by the decoder 12 which is a decoding means, and is preferably provided.

The speaker 15 corresponds to the output means of the present invention and outputs the encoded data decoded by the decoder 12 as an audio signal or the audio signal amplified by the audio amplifier 14.

In the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, if the communication is not normally terminated at the end of the facsimile communication, the non-volatile memory device 9 stores the voice signal on the line during the facsimile communication.

According to this invention, since the voice signal recorded in the non-volatile memory device 9 can be generated and the voice signal on the line at the time of communication can be confirmed, the reason why the facsimile communication is not normally terminated can be grasped. Means can be provided.

Further, in the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, the voice signal on the line during the facsimile communication is converted into the encoded data by the encoder 11 which is the converting means, and the encoded data converted by the encoder 11 is temporarily stored in the storing means. And the encoded data stored in the temporary storage means is stored in the nonvolatile storage means 9 which is the storage means when the facsimile communication is not normally terminated at the end of the facsimile communication.

According to this invention, the state of the facsimile communication can be confirmed by analyzing the encoded data recorded in the non-volatile memory device 9, so that the reason why the facsimile communication is not normally terminated can be grasped. Can be provided.

Further, in the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, when the reproduction of the voice signal of the facsimile communication which is not normally completed is designated by the operation section 5 which is the operation means, the decoder 12 which is the decoding means causes the nonvolatile means which is the storage means. It is preferable that the coded data stored in the storage device 9 is decoded and the coded data decoded by the decoder 12 is output as a voice signal in the speaker 15 which is an output unit.

According to such an invention, the user can easily confirm the voice signal on the line during the facsimile communication by the facsimile apparatus itself, so that when carrying out a plurality of facsimile communication and later taking a document to the facsimile apparatus. It is possible to grasp the reason why the facsimile communication is not normally completed by the facsimile device.

Next, the operation of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing the operation until the facsimile communication is completed, and FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation at the time of reproducing the audio signal.

First, when the facsimile communication is started, the voice signal on the line at the time of the facsimile communication is encoded by the encoder 11 (S1), and the encoded voice signal is stored in the second RAM 4 which is the primary buffer ( S2).

After being stored in S2, the CPU 1 determines whether or not the facsimile communication is normally completed (S3).

If it is determined in S3 that the processing has ended normally, the processing ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S3 that the processing has not ended normally, the encoded data stored in the second RAM 4 which is the primary buffer in S2 is stored in the non-volatile storage device 9 and the encoded data is stored in the communication history. Is added (S4).

In this way, since the communication state of the facsimile communication in which the communication is not normally completed is stored in the non-volatile storage device 9, the coded data stored in the non-volatile storage device 9 is decoded and the voice signal is decoded. If a device capable of reproducing as is used, it is possible to determine the cause when an error occurs during facsimile communication.

In the example shown in FIG. 2, the audio signal is encoded by the encoder 11 and then the second buffer, which is the primary buffer, is used.
Although the description has been given by taking the aspect of storing in the RAM as an example, if the storage means that can store the voice signal as it is is used, the facsimile communication can be performed without using the encoder 11 (without performing the process of (S1)). Although the communication state can be stored, it is preferable to use the encoder 11, which is a conversion unit for converting the encoded data, because the storage unit can be downsized and data can be easily extracted.

After the encoded data is stored in the non-volatile memory device 9 according to the processing flow shown in FIG. 2, the user normally terminates which facsimile communication did not end normally according to the flow shown in FIG. It is possible to determine what the communication status of the facsimile communication that did not exist was.

When the facsimile communication is completed, the program shown in FIG. 3 is activated, and the CPU 1 determines whether or not the history of the facsimile communication which has not been normally completed is stored in the non-volatile storage device 9 (S10).

If it is determined in S10 that there is a history of facsimile communication that has not ended normally, the display unit 6
A history of facsimile communication that has not been normally completed is displayed on the screen, and the user inputs an instruction to reproduce the communication status based on the display on the display unit 6 and select a communication history for which confirmation of the facsimile communication status is desired. Then, the communication history is confirmed as a selection target (S11).

When the communication history to be confirmed is confirmed in S11, the coded data corresponding to the communication history is sent from the non-volatile storage device 9 to the decoder 12, decoded into a voice signal, and the voice signal is decoded. Is amplified by the audio amplifier 14 and output to the speaker 15 (S12).

This is more preferable because the user can determine the cause of the error occurring during the facsimile communication only with the facsimile device.

[0055]

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1,
It is possible to provide a facsimile apparatus that can provide a cause determining unit when an error occurs during facsimile communication.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, even if a large number of errors occur during facsimile communication, there is provided a judgment means capable of easily judging the cause of the error during facsimile communication from a large amount of data. It is possible to provide a facsimile machine capable of performing the above.

According to the third aspect of the invention, even if a large number of errors occur during facsimile communication, the facsimile device itself can easily determine the cause of the error during facsimile communication from a large amount of data. A device can be provided.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation until facsimile communication is completed.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation when reproducing an audio signal.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: CPU 2: ROM 3: First RAM 4: Second RAM 5: Operation part 6: Display 7: Reading unit 8: Output section 9: Non-volatile storage device 10: Modem 11: Encoder 12: Decoder 13: NCU 14: Audio amplifier 15: Speaker

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile apparatus comprising storage means for storing a voice signal on a line during facsimile communication when the facsimile communication is not normally completed. 2. A converting means for converting a voice signal on a line at the time of facsimile communication into encoded data, a temporary storage means for storing the encoded data converted by the converting means, and a normal communication at the end of the facsimile communication. And a storage means for storing the encoded data stored in the temporary storage means when the processing is not completed. 3. An operation means for designating reproduction of a voice signal of a facsimile communication which has not been normally completed, a decoding means for decoding the encoded data stored in the storage means, and an encoding decoded by the decoding means. 3. An output means for outputting data as an audio signal.
The described facsimile machine.