JP2005109727A - Facsimile apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a facsimile apparatus which can reflect intention of a transmission side operator while matching the facsimile function to that of a destination receiving side in a facsimile communication. <P>SOLUTION: The facsimile apparatus performs a facsimile communication of image data of input original to the destination. The facsimile apparatus includes a storage means for storing function information of the destination side facsimile apparatus, a display means for displaying function information stored in the storage means, a setting means for setting a transmission mode of the image data based on the function information stored in the storage means, and a transmitting means for transmitting image data to the destination side facsimile apparatus in a transmission mode set by the setting means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus that performs facsimile communication.

  In the conventional facsimile apparatus, when the functions of the transmission side and the reception side facsimile machines are different, the transmission side transmits the original image data by facsimile communication according to the function of the reception side. Since the received side cannot easily recognize that the received document has been reduced or divided and sent, the content of the original document and the transmission side operator's There was a problem that the intention was not accurately transmitted to the receiving party.

In the technique described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228867, it is recognized that the transmission side transmits the document without reducing it to the reception side during facsimile communication, and the divided image data is transmitted when the image data of the document is divided and transmitted. A technique has been disclosed in which a mark that can be combined with image data is transmitted, so that it can be easily recognized that a document has been divided and sent on the receiving side.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-205587

  However, according to the technique described in Patent Document 1 described above, since the transmission-side facsimile apparatus automatically performs division of a document to be transmitted in accordance with the function of the reception-side facsimile apparatus, the transmission-side operator can transmit the document. Even if the original to be printed is reduced or intended for facsimile communication that is output on a single sheet without being divided, the original to be transmitted is divided against the operator's intention, and the sending operator The problem that it is difficult to communicate the intention of the transmission side to the receiving side has not been solved, and it has been impossible to perform facsimile communication reflecting the intention of the transmission side operator while matching the facsimile function of the receiving side.

  In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile apparatus capable of reflecting the intention of a transmission side operator while matching the facsimile function of a destination reception side during facsimile communication.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first characteristic configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention is to perform facsimile communication of input image data of a document to a destination as described in claim 1 of the claims. In the facsimile apparatus, storage means for storing function information of the counterpart facsimile apparatus, display means for displaying the function information stored in the storage means, and transmission mode setting of image data based on the function information stored in the storage means And a transmission unit for transmitting the image data to the counterpart facsimile apparatus in the transmission mode set by the setting unit.

  According to the configuration described above, when transmitting image data of a document by facsimile communication, the operator can grasp the format of the document that can be received by the partner facsimile machine, and further, among the formats of the document that can be received by the partner side. By considering the most appropriate format and setting the examination result as the transmission mode, the facsimile device transmits the original image data to the other party in that transmission mode, thus realizing facsimile communication reflecting the operator's intention It becomes possible.

  In the second feature configuration, as described in claim 2 of the same column, in addition to the first feature configuration described above, the storage means stores information obtained at the time of the first facsimile communication with the counterpart facsimile machine. The function information is stored on the basis of the above.

  According to the above configuration, if the partner side has transmitted the image data of the document by facsimile communication even once in the past, the next time, for example, at the input time of the partner facsimile number before the start of facsimile communication. Since the other party's function information can be displayed by the display means, it is possible to eliminate the waste of acquiring the same function information from the other party every time the image data of the original is transmitted by facsimile communication, and the facsimile is efficient. Communication is possible.

  In the third feature configuration, as described in claim 3 of the same column, in addition to the first or second feature configuration described above, function information obtained at the time of communication processing with the counterpart facsimile apparatus by the transmitting means. However, when it is determined that the function information is different from the function information stored in the storage means, an update means is provided for updating the content stored in the storage means based on the newly obtained function information of the counterpart facsimile machine. It is that you are.

  According to the configuration described above, even when the counterpart facsimile machine is changed to a facsimile machine having function information different from the previous one due to a model change or the like, the updating means updates the function information, so that the facsimile communication is performed according to the previous function information. As a result, it is possible to normally execute facsimile communication that reflects the operator's intention, without transmitting the document in a format contrary to the operator's intention or terminating the facsimile communication illegally.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a facsimile apparatus that can reflect the intention of the transmission side operator while matching with the facsimile function of the destination reception side during facsimile communication.

  Embodiments of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention (hereinafter abbreviated as the present invention apparatus) will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment. The apparatus 1 of the present invention includes a CPU 2 that executes a program and controls the entire apparatus, a ROM 3 that stores a program that the CPU 2 executes, and temporarily stores various data such as image data of a document that is executed or inputted. RAM 4 that performs scanning, scanner unit 5 that reads a document to obtain image data, printer unit 6 that outputs image data of the received document on recording paper, communication line 10, and connection control between the apparatus of the present invention and the document In order to transmit / receive the image data of the image data by facsimile communication, the communication control unit 7 that converts the format of various data such as image data of the document into a format suitable for transmission on the communication line 10, the operation unit 8, and the communication line 10 The image data of the document to be transmitted to the connected facsimile apparatus 11 by facsimile communication is converted in accordance with the function information of the facsimile apparatus 11. And a data processing circuit 9, etc..

  The operation unit 8 registers various contents frequently input by an operator, such as a facsimile number of a facsimile transmission destination, in advance, thereby enabling various operations such as a one-touch key that can be designated by one touch and a start key that instructs the start of facsimile transmission. A key input unit in which keys to which functions are assigned is arranged, and a display unit as a display means including a liquid crystal panel for displaying an input state of the key input unit, a message to an operator, and the like.

  The data processing circuit 9 includes a plurality of processing blocks such as a compression / decompression unit, a scaling unit, a resolution conversion unit, a color / monochrome processing unit, and the operation of each processing block is controlled by the CPU 2. In the apparatus of the present invention, for example, when image data of a document is transmitted to the counterpart facsimile device by facsimile communication, the image data of the document read by the scanner 5 and temporarily stored in the RAM 4 is input to the data processing circuit 9 and will be described in detail later. Each processing block is controlled by the CPU 2 so as to match the function information of the counterpart facsimile machine in the facsimile transmission obtained in the function exchange phase described below. For example, the compression / decompression unit compresses image data in a compression format that can be supported by the other side, and the apparatus of the present invention supports A3 size originals, but the other side only supports originals up to A4 size. Therefore, when the image data must be transmitted after being subjected to scaling processing or the like, the scaling processing unit can reduce the image data of the A3 size document to A4 size. Further, for example, when receiving image data of a document from a facsimile machine on the other side by facsimile communication, the communication control unit 7 develops the document from a format suitable for transmission by the communication circuit 10 and temporarily stores it in the RAM 4 of the device 1 of the present invention. The image data is input to the data processing circuit 9 and processed, and then output onto the recording paper by the printer unit 6. For example, if the image data is compressed, the compression / decompression unit decompresses the image data in the RAM 4 by a decompression method corresponding to the compression format, and the printer unit 6 outputs the decompressed image data onto a recording paper having a corresponding paper width. To do.

  Here, the function exchange phase performed by the device 1 of the present invention will be described. For example, when the apparatus 1 of the present invention is a G3 facsimile apparatus that performs data communication by using an HDLC (High-Level Data Link Cont) procedure using an analog line, the transmission procedure of facsimile communication is generally from phase A to phase A. It is divided into five procedures up to E. Phase A is a procedure until both the transmission side and reception side facsimile apparatuses are connected to each other. In phase B, the functions of the facsimile apparatus are identified and selected in preparation before image data transmission. In phase C, synchronization signal transmission during transmission of image data, transmission path status monitoring, and image data transmission are performed. In phase D, image data transmission completion and reception confirmation are performed. The process continues after returning to B and C. In phase E, the line is disconnected and the state before phase A is restored.

  The function exchange phase is included in phase B of the above phases. In phase A, the apparatus 1 of the present invention dials a facsimile number to the destination facsimile machine and then transmits and receives electrical signals in both directions. This is done after the connection with the other party is established.

  In the function exchange phase, facsimile communication function information such as scanning line density and compression format is transmitted from the other party, and the device 1 of the present invention is the most based on the content of the function information and the function information of the facsimile communication of the device 1 of the present invention. Determine an efficient transmission method. Specifically, for example, the scanning line density on the other side is normal (3.85 lines / mm), the compression format is MH (Modified Huffman), and the scanning line density of the apparatus 1 of the present invention is normal and fine. (7.7 lines / mm) and the compression format is MH and MR (Modified Read), the most efficient transmission method to be determined is normal scanning line density and compression format MH. .

  Here, in the HDLC procedure, data transmission / reception between the apparatus 1 of the present invention and the counterpart facsimile machine is performed in units of frames including a control field and an information field, and a signal for identifying a control function is stored in the information field. The facsimile control field is divided into a facsimile information field in which detailed information on the control function is stored. When the above-mentioned function information is sent from the other party to the apparatus 1 of the present invention, a signal such as DIS (Digital Identification Signal) is stored in the facsimile control field, and the information stored in the facsimile information field is stored in the function information. To the device 1 of the present invention.

  In the apparatus 1 of the present invention described above, the storage means is configured such that the CPU 2 stores the function information of the counterpart facsimile apparatus received by the communication control unit 7 in the RAM 4, and the display means is a function stored in the RAM 4 by the CPU 2. The information is configured to be read and displayed by the display unit. FIG. 2 shows a specific example of the function information stored in the RAM 4 as a counterpart function table. In the other party function table, a facsimile number for identifying the other party facsimile apparatus and function information are registered in association with each other. The function information includes details such as resolution, paper size, compression format, and color / monochrome. Items and detailed contents corresponding to individual detailed items are described.

  Furthermore, in the above-described apparatus 1 of the present invention, the setting means selects the function information displayed on the display unit by the operator operating the key input unit or the display unit, and the selected function and the book stored in the ROM 3. Based on the function information of the inventive device 1, the CPU 2 executes the program stored in the ROM 3 to set the transmission mode, and the CPU 2 temporarily stores the determined transmission mode setting in the RAM 4. It is configured. In the facsimile communication for transmitting the image data of the document to the other party, the transmission means reads the temporarily stored transmission mode information from the RAM 4 by the CPU 2, and further, based on the transmission mode information, the communication control unit 7, the data processing The circuit 9 is driven, and the image data of the document temporarily stored in the RAM 4 is processed based on the set transmission mode and transmitted to the counterpart facsimile machine.

  In the above-described invention apparatus 1, the storage means further stores the function information acquired by the communication control unit 7 when the facsimile communication with the partner facsimile apparatus is performed for the first time as function information of the partner facsimile apparatus in the RAM 4. , And is stored in the counterpart function table. That is, if the function information of the counterpart facsimile apparatus is not stored in the counterpart function table of the RAM 4, there is no communication history between the counterpart apparatus and the present apparatus 1, and therefore the CPU 2 is stored in the RAM 4. By searching for function information, it is possible to confirm the presence or absence of a communication history.

  In the above-described invention device 1, the updating means further uses the function information already stored in the RAM 4 as the function information of the other-side facsimile apparatus obtained during facsimile communication for transmitting the image data of the original to the other side. The CPU 2 determines whether or not they are different, and when they are determined to be different, the contents stored in the RAM 4 are updated based on the newly obtained function information of the counterpart facsimile machine.

  Hereinafter, based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, the operation of the apparatus 1 of the present invention reflecting the intention of the transmission side operator while matching the facsimile function of the receiving side will be described. Here, the apparatus 1 of the present invention only supports up to A4 size documents, the input document size is also A4 size, and the receiving function of the destination facsimile machine supports up to A3 size. Further, an example will be described in which the operator wants to send a document in a full-size format on a single A3 size recording sheet.

  First, when a manuscript is set on the scanner unit 5 of the apparatus 1 of the present invention and the one-touch key and the start key in which the facsimile number of the recipient facsimile machine of the key input unit is registered are pressed by the operator (S1), the scanner The unit 5 is controlled by the CPU 2 to read a document, convert it into image data, and temporarily store it in the RAM 4 (S2). Next, the CPU 2 searches the counterpart function table in the RAM 4 (S3), and confirms whether or not the counterpart function information is stored (S4).

  When the function information of the other party is stored in the other party function table, the CPU 2 reads the function information and displays it on the display unit (S5). The operator selects an appropriate function from the function information displayed on the display unit (S6). Here, the operator intends to send the document to the other party in the form of output on the A3 size recording paper without changing the scale of the document, so the function of selecting A3 as the paper size and the magnification as 100% is provided. select. Also, here, for example, when the position of the display part where the function is displayed is pressed with a finger, the function of the part pressed with the finger is selected, and further, the key input part to which the fixed function is assigned is operated. Thus, the setting of the transmission mode is completed and stored in the RAM 4.

  After the setting of the transmission mode is completed, the CPU 2 of the device 1 of the present invention transmits a signal to the other party and dials (S7). Then, the CPU 2 compares whether or not the function information transmitted from the counterpart facsimile machine in the function exchange phase and received by the communication control unit 6 is the same as the content stored in the counterpart function table (S8). If they are the same, facsimile transmission is performed in accordance with the setting contents of the transmission mode stored in the RAM 4, the original is output from the counterpart facsimile machine to A3-sized recording paper, and the process is terminated.

  In process S4, if the function information of the other party is not stored in the other party function table, and this time is the first facsimile communication with the other party, the CPU 2 of the device 1 of the present invention sends a signal to the other party. Dialing is performed (S11). When the function information is transmitted from the partner facsimile apparatus in the function exchange phase described above and received by the communication control unit 6 (S12), the CPU 2 sends the received function information together with the facsimile number of the partner facsimile apparatus to the partner function of the RAM 4. It registers in the table (S13) and ends the process.

  If the function information received by the communication control unit 5 in step S8 is different from the content stored in the counterpart function table, the CPU 2 updates the contents of the counterpart function table in the RAM 4 with the received function information. (S21), the process ends.

  In the above embodiment, the inventive apparatus 1 is a G3 facsimile apparatus that performs data communication using an HDLC procedure using an analog line, but is not limited thereto, and performs data communication using a digital line such as ISDN. It may be a G4 facsimile machine or the like.

Schematic diagram of the device of the present invention The figure which shows the specific example of the function information concerning one Embodiment of this invention. Process flow diagram of the device of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

1: Invention device 2: CPU
3: ROM
4: RAM
5: Scanner unit 6: Printer unit 7: Communication control unit 8: Operation unit 9: Data processing circuit 10: Communication line

Claims (3)

In a facsimile apparatus for performing facsimile communication of input document image data to a partner, storage means for storing function information of the counterpart facsimile apparatus, display means for displaying function information stored in the storage means, and storage means A facsimile apparatus comprising: setting means for setting a transmission mode of image data based on the function information stored by the transmission means; and transmission means for transmitting the image data to the counterpart facsimile apparatus in the transmission mode set by the setting means. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage means is configured to store function information based on information obtained in the first facsimile communication with the counterpart facsimile apparatus. When it is determined that the function information obtained at the time of communication processing with the counterpart facsimile apparatus by the transmission means is different from the function information stored in the storage means, based on the newly obtained function information of the counterpart facsimile apparatus 3. A facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an updating means for updating contents stored in said storage means.

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