JP2003219086A - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a facsimile machine capable of reducing a wasteful communication cost and man-hours of an operator in a service center and quickly correcting an error that takes place. <P>SOLUTION: The facsimile machine 1 prints out error information denoting contents of occurrence of errors, a referring destination of an error restoration method, and an occurrence time on the detection of the occurrence of errors. When the user needs not support by the service center in the restoration of the occurred errors, since the user handle the errors without the need for contact with the service center, the wasteful communication cost can be reduced. Further, since the service center or the like receives no error information or the like from the user not needing restoration support, the service center or the like can quickly respond to users' request for restoration support so as to enhance the service on the users. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus for transmitting / receiving image information to / from a partner station connected via a public line or a private line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, image information received by transmitting image information to a partner station connected via a public line or a private line or receiving image information transmitted from the partner station There is a facsimile machine that prints an image based on the.

Further, when an error occurs during the operation of the main body, a facsimile machine (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-57616) having a function of transmitting an error occurrence notification based on the occurred error to a service center and input information are stored. A facsimile apparatus configured to analyze whether the cause of the error is an input error or a control program error by using the input information stored when the error occurs (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-2001) 103225) has been proposed.

[0004]

However, the facsimile apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-57616 is configured to notify the service center of an error regardless of the type of error that has occurred, and can be easily restored. Even when an error occurred, the error notification was sent to the service center. The purpose of notifying the service center of the occurrence of an error is to assist a user who does not know how to recover the error that has occurred and to promptly recover the error that has occurred. Therefore, since the user who knows how to recover the error that has occurred does not need to notify the service center of the error occurrence, this error occurrence notification results in useless communication, and running cost (communication cost) increases. there were. Further, an error occurrence notification is sent to the service center from a user who does not need recovery support for the error that has occurred. The operator of the service center receives the error notification sent from the user who needs to support the recovery of the error that has occurred and the error notification sent from the user who does not need to support the recovery of the error that has occurred. We had to divide it into the error occurrence notification that was sent, and we could not respond promptly to the users who needed assistance.

Further, in the facsimile apparatus described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-103225, in order for a user who does not know how to recover an error that has occurred to receive assistance from the service center, the telephone number, fax number, etc. of the service center are contacted. It is necessary to check the destination and it takes time to recover the error that occurred.

Further, there is a case where the user does not know the error that occurred and the error content cannot be accurately transmitted to the operator of the service center. In this case, the operator could not understand the error that occurred and could not assist the user.

An object of the present invention is to reduce waste of communication cost and labor of an operator at a service center,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile device that can promptly recover an error that has occurred.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the facsimile apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration.

(1) A receiving unit that receives image information transmitted from a partner station connected via a line, a printing unit that prints an image based on the image information received by the receiving unit, and a document is printed. An image reading unit for reading the read image, a transmitting unit for transmitting image information of the image read by the image reading unit to a partner station connected via a line, and a control unit for detecting the occurrence of an error In the facsimile apparatus including the, the control unit, when detecting the occurrence of an error, the error information indicating the content of the error that occurred in the printing unit, and the contact information of the recovery method of the error occurred, the paper printed Is output.

In this configuration, when the occurrence of an error is detected in the main body, the error information indicating the content of the error that has occurred and the contact information for inquiring how to recover the error that has occurred are printed on paper and output. The paper used at this time may be the paper used for printing the image based on the image information transmitted from the partner station connected via the line.

Since the user does not need the support of the service center if he / she knows how to recover the generated error,
Do not send the paper on which the error information indicating the content of the error that occurred and the contact information for how to recover the error that has occurred are printed to the service center. This reduces waste of communication costs.

Further, in the service center, since the error occurrence notification is not sent from the user who does not need the recovery assistance, it is possible to promptly deal with the user who needs the recovery assistance and to provide the service to the user. Can be improved.

Further, in addition to the error information indicating the content of the error that has occurred and the contact address for the method for recovering the error that has occurred, the method (procedure) for recovering the error that has occurred may be printed on paper. A user who cannot recover even after reading the recovery method printed on the paper may fax the paper to a service center or call the service center to ask the operator for assistance in recovering an error that has occurred.

Further, since the paper is printed with the contact information for recovering the error that occurred, the user does not need to look up the contact information such as the fax number or telephone number of the service center who asks for assistance in recovery, You can easily contact us. Further, since the error information indicating the content of the error that has occurred is also printed on the paper, the content of the error that has occurred can be accurately transmitted to the operator of the service center.

(2) An inquiry destination storage unit is provided for storing the inquiry destination associated with each error type when the error occurs.

In this configuration, since the inquiries to be made for each type of error are stored in association with each other, it is possible to inquire the restoration method to the inquiries according to the occurred error, and the recovery of the error is required. The time can be shortened.

For example, if a trouble occurs in the exchange connected to the main body of the apparatus through a line and an error also occurs in the equipment due to this trouble, the service center cannot confirm the details of the trouble occurring in the exchange. After making an inquiry to the service center, the user makes an inquiry to a place where the operator can confirm the details of the trouble that has occurred in the exchange specified by the operator of the service center. In this case, the operator will make inquiries to two places.

However, in the above-mentioned configuration, since the inquiry destination when each type of error occurs is stored in association with each other, the inquiry destination corresponding to the occurred error can be designated to the user from the beginning. It is possible to reduce the user's time and effort required for restoration.

(3) The control unit has a ranking function for setting a rank according to an input for each type of error, and if the generated error exceeds the predetermined rank, the error information or the like is printed on a paper sheet. If the error that occurs does not exceed a predetermined rank, the above error information is not printed on the paper.

With this configuration, the rank can be set for each type of error, and if the error that occurs exceeds the predetermined rank, the above error information and the like are printed on the paper, and the error that has occurred is the predetermined rank. If the error is within the range, the above error information is not printed on the paper. Therefore, since the error information and the like are not printed on the sheet until the occurrence of an error such as a paper jam that does not require the support of the service center, the wasted sheet can be reduced.

The type of error that requires support from the service center and the type of error that does not require support differ depending on the user. In the above configuration, however, the user can set the rank for each type of error. Users can use the main unit with their own settings.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The facsimile apparatus 1 of this embodiment has a control unit 2 for controlling the operation of the main body, an operation unit 3 in which operation keys such as dial keys and function keys are arranged, and a display unit 4 for displaying the operation state of the main body. A communication section 5 for communicating with a partner station connected via the public line 10, an image reading section 6 for reading an image written on a document set in the main body, and a public line 10 for transmission. The printing unit 7 prints an image based on the image information on a sheet. The control unit 2 is provided with a recording medium such as a ROM that records an operation program of the main body and a RAM that temporarily records data generated during operation. The display unit 4 includes, for example, an LCD display.
The communication unit 5 includes a transmitting unit 11 for transmitting image information to a partner station connected via the public line 10 and a receiving unit for receiving image information transmitted from a partner station connected via the public line 10. It has twelve. The image reading unit 6 has substantially the same configuration as a known scanner that optically reads an image on a document. The printing unit 7 may be configured to have a thermal head to form an image on thermal paper, or may be configured to form a toner image on plain paper.

Further, the control unit 2 is provided with an EEPROM (nonvolatile memory). In this EEPROM,
Inquiry destination information in which an inquiry destination and its rank are associated with each other for each error type is stored. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the inquiry destination information stored in this EEPROM. As shown in FIG. 2, an inquiry destination (service center, exchange office, etc.) and its rank are associated with each type of error in the main body (paper jam, printing failure, line connection failure, etc.). In this embodiment, an error whose associated rank is “1” is an error that can be recovered without the user's assistance from a service center or the like. The error having the associated rank of "2" is an error that cannot be recovered by the user without assistance from a service center or the like. The rank associated with each error type can be freely set by the user by operating a predetermined key on the operation unit 3.

As an inquiry destination when an error occurs, for example, a service center is registered for an error which is presumed to have occurred mainly due to the state of the apparatus main body, and the partner station via the public line 10 is registered. Exchanges are registered for errors that are presumed to have occurred depending on the state of the exchange, such as line connection with. As described above, in the contact information, an appropriate contact is registered for each type of error.

In this embodiment, the error rank is classified into two stages, but it may be classified into three or more stages.

Next, the facsimile apparatus 1 of this embodiment
The operation of will be described. When the transmission operation is performed by the operation unit 3, the facsimile apparatus 1 of this embodiment performs a line connection process with the partner station identified by the input line number, and after the line connection, the transmission unit 11 to the image reading unit 6 The original image scanned in is sent to the partner station to which the line is connected. When a connection request for a line is made from another device via the public line 10, line connection processing with the other device is performed,
The image information transmitted from the other device after the line connection is received by the receiving unit 12. The printing unit 7 prints an image based on the image information received by the receiving unit 12 on paper.

A transmission process for transmitting image information to a partner station connected via the public line 10 and a process for receiving image information transmitted from a partner station connected via the public line 10 are performed. The receiving process for printing an image based on a sheet is known, and therefore its explanation is omitted here.

The facsimile apparatus 1 of this embodiment executes the error handling process shown in FIG. 3 while the operating power is supplied to the main body. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing this error handling processing. The facsimile device 1 constantly monitors the occurrence of an error in the main body (s1).
In s1, various types of errors such as paper jam in the printing unit 7, printing failure, document jamming in the image reading unit 6, line connection failure in the communication unit 5, and the like are monitored.

When the facsimile apparatus 1 detects the occurrence of an error in s1, it determines whether the rank of the error that occurred is "1" or "2" (s2). The determination of s2 is made by checking the rank associated with the error that has occurred in the inquiry destination information shown in FIG. When the rank is 1, the facsimile device 1 determines that the user does not need assistance in recovering the error that has occurred, and indicates the type of error that occurred, the contact address when the assistance is needed, and the error occurrence time. The memory is stored in the memory (RAM) provided in the control unit 2 (s3), and the display unit 4 displays that an error has occurred (s4), and the present process ends. For example, the message “A paper jam error has occurred.” Is displayed on the display unit 4.
To display. Since the facsimile device 1 continues to display the message displayed in s4 on the display unit 4 until any key provided on the operation unit 3 is operated, the user can be surely notified that an error has occurred. You can

Further, when an error occurs that the user judges that the recovery assistance is not needed, the device main body does not send the information such as an error code indicating the content of the error to the inquiry destination. Waste of communication costs can be reduced.

Further, a notification lamp may be provided in the main body, which is turned on when an error occurs and is turned off when any one of the keys provided on the operation unit 3 is operated. By providing this notification lamp, lighting of the notification lamp,
You can check whether the error occurred by turning off the light.

By performing a predetermined key operation on the operation unit 3, the user stores the type of error that has occurred in the memory stored in s3, an inquiry address when assistance is required,
The error occurrence time can be displayed on the display unit 4 or printed on the paper by the printing unit 7.

As a result, when the user later thinks that assistance from a service center or the like is needed, the information stored in the memory is printed on a sheet in s3, so that the inquiry destination can be easily confirmed. Further, by sending the sheet by fax to the inquiry destination confirmed here, the content of the error that has occurred can be accurately transmitted to the operator of the inquiry destination.

When the printing unit 7 cannot print an image on a sheet due to an error that has occurred, the type of the error that is stored in the memory, the contact address when assistance is required, and the time when the error occurred. When the printing unit 7 performs an operation for printing on paper, these information are displayed on the display unit 4 to inform the user of details of the error that has occurred. Further, if assistance from a service center or the like is needed, the contents of the error occurred to the operator can be accurately identified by calling the inquiry point and having a conversation with the operator while seeing the content displayed on the display unit 4. I can tell.

In the facsimile apparatus 1, if the rank of the error occurred in s2 is "2" (when the user needs assistance for recovery of the error occurred), the printing unit 7 causes the paper to be printed due to the error occurred. It is determined whether or not the image cannot be printed on (2) (s5). If the printing unit 7 is in a state where the image can be printed on the paper, the facsimile apparatus 1 prints on the paper the type of error that has occurred in the printing unit 7, the inquiry address when assistance is required, and the error occurrence time (s6). ). On the contrary, if the printing unit 7 is not in a state of being able to print an image on the paper, the above-mentioned steps s3 and s4 are performed,
This process ends.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a sheet printed in s6. As shown in the figure, the telephone number of the contact, the fax number, the error code indicating the type of error that has occurred, the error content, and the time when the error occurred are printed on the paper. The form also has an area where the user can enter his or her name, contact information, and further comments.

The user indicates that an error has occurred in s6.
Recognize by the presence of the paper printed in. Further, the user can easily and accurately inform the operator of the inquiry destination, such as a service center, of the error that occurred by transmitting the paper by fax to the inquiry destination printed on the paper.

As described above, since the user has the fax number of the destination printed on the sheet printed in s6, the user can easily send the fax without checking the destination.

Further, since the printing unit 7 is not in a state of being able to print the image on the paper, when the paper is not printed, the information stored in the memory in s3 is displayed on the display unit 4 and included in this information. It is sufficient to make a call to the telephone number of the inquiry destination, and have a conversation with the operator while seeing the contents displayed on the display unit 4.

If the printing unit 7 is not in a state of being able to print an image on a sheet, the display unit 4 displays that an error has occurred, as in the case where an error that does not require the above-mentioned recovery assistance is generated. The user can confirm that an error has occurred by this display.

Furthermore, when an error occurs that does not require the user's recovery assistance, only the error occurrence is notified to the user, and printing is not performed on the paper. As a result, the running cost of the main body can be reduced.

It should be noted that the recovery method of the error that has occurred together with the error code indicating the type of error that has occurred may be printed on paper or displayed on the display unit 4. In this way, the user performs the recovery work based on the recovery method printed on the paper and makes an inquiry to the service center or the like only when the recovery is not possible, so that the waste of communication cost can be further reduced.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, when an error occurs that requires assistance for error recovery, it is possible to easily make an inquiry at this time. Further, the content of the error that has occurred can be accurately transmitted to the operator at the inquiry destination.

On the other hand, when an error occurs that does not require assistance for error recovery, unnecessary information is not transmitted to the service center and the like, so that waste of communication cost can be reduced.

Further, since the inquiry destinations are stored in association with each other for each type of error, the inquiry destination corresponding to the error that has occurred can be designated to the user from the beginning, and the recovery operation can be performed efficiently. You can do it.

Furthermore, since the waste of paper is suppressed, the running cost can be further reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing inquiry destination information stored in the facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an error handling process in the facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a printing example of a sheet printed by the printing unit of the facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-Facsimile machine 2-Control unit 3-Operation part 4-Display 5-Communication section 6-Image reading unit 7-Printing section

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A receiving unit for receiving image information transmitted from a partner station connected via a line, a printing unit for printing an image based on the image information received by the receiving unit, and a printing unit for printing on an original. An image reading unit for reading the image, a transmitting unit for transmitting the image information of the image read by the image reading unit to a partner station connected via a line, and a control unit for detecting the occurrence of an error, In a facsimile apparatus equipped with, an inquiry destination storage unit that stores, for each error type, an inquiry destination when the error occurs is stored, and the control unit ranks according to an input for each error type. If the error that occurs exceeds the predetermined rank, the error indicating the content of the error that occurred in the printing unit is displayed. Information, and outputs the sheet of printing to contact of the generated error recovery method, the facsimile machine generated error is not printed as long as the error does not exceed a predetermined rank the error information and the like on paper. 2. A receiving section for receiving image information transmitted from a partner station connected via a line, a printing section for printing an image based on the image information received by the receiving section, and a printing section for printing on an original. An image reading unit for reading the image, a transmitting unit for transmitting the image information of the image read by the image reading unit to a partner station connected via a line, and a control unit for detecting the occurrence of an error, In a facsimile apparatus including, when the occurrence of an error is detected, the control unit prints a sheet of paper on which error information indicating the content of the error that has occurred in the printing unit and a contact for inquiring how to recover the error that has occurred are printed. A facsimile machine that outputs. 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an inquiry destination storage unit that stores an inquiry destination associated with each type of error when the error occurs. 4. The control unit has a ranking function for setting a rank according to an input for each type of error, and if the generated error is an error exceeding a predetermined rank, the error information or the like is printed on a sheet. 4. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the error information and the like are not printed on a sheet if the error is printed and the generated error does not exceed a predetermined rank.