JP2006245743A - Facsimile device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a highly reliable facsimile device capable of transferring image data substitutionally received by a memory to the other facsimile devices when serious abnormality of a printer occurs. <P>SOLUTION: The facsimile device is provided with a receiver 14 for receiving the image data, an image data storage 16 for storing the image data received by the receiver 14; a printer 18 for printing the image data stored in the image data storage 16; an error detector 20 for detecting the abnormality occurring when the image data are printed; a determination part 24 for determining whether or not the abnormality detected by the error detector 20 is the abnormality of a previously registered transfer target; a transfer 28 which originates a call to the previously registered transfer destination, and transfers the image data by reading out them from the image data storage part 16 when the determination part 24 determines that the abnormality is the abnormality of the transfer target; and a control unit 30 for controlling the receiver 14 so as to reject to receive the image data by incoming calls subsequent to the determination by the determination part 24, when the determination part 24 determines that the abnormality is the abnormality of the transfer target. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a facsimile machine, and more particularly, to a facsimile machine capable of receiving and printing on behalf of a memory.

As a conventional facsimile apparatus, for example, there is one described in Patent Document 1. The facsimile apparatus described in this document has an image memory for storing image data, and an automatic call function for making a call to a pre-registered destination, and has received an incoming call in a state where a failure has occurred in the recording system. In this case, the received image data is “transferred to the second facsimile machine designated in advance after being received in the image memory. Also, whether the failure that has occurred can be recovered by the user or repaired by a service person. It is determined whether the image is necessary, and if it can be restored by the user, the image is stored by receiving the proxy on the memory without transferring.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-170156

  However, the prior art described in the above literature has room for improvement in the following points.

  First, if the transfer destination is far away, there is a possibility that the received document may be lost or missing, so if a serious failure occurs in the recording system, It is preferable to refuse reception without forwarding.

  Secondly, there is a case where it is not always a good method to transfer the received image data, for example, when there is a possibility of including a confidential document.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable facsimile apparatus capable of transferring image data received by a memory proxy to another facsimile apparatus when a serious printer abnormality occurs. It is to provide.

According to the present invention, a receiving unit that receives image data;
An image storage unit for storing the image data received by the reception unit;
A printing unit for printing the image data stored in the image storage unit;
A detection unit for detecting an abnormality that occurred during printing of the image data;
A determination unit that determines whether the abnormality detected by the detection unit is a transfer target abnormality registered in advance;
When the determination unit determines that the abnormality is the transfer target, a call is made to a transfer destination registered in advance, and the transfer unit reads and transfers the image data from the image storage unit;
And a control unit that controls the receiving unit so as to reject the reception of image data by a subsequent incoming call when the determining unit determines that the abnormality is the transfer target. A facsimile machine is provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a highly reliable facsimile apparatus capable of transferring image data received on behalf of a memory to another facsimile apparatus when a serious printer abnormality occurs.

  The facsimile apparatus may include a notification unit that notifies when the detection unit detects the abnormality. The facsimile apparatus may include a notification unit that notifies destination information of the transfer destination.

  The facsimile apparatus can include a receiving unit that receives a transfer instruction indicating whether or not to transfer by the transfer unit, and the transfer unit can transfer the image data when the transfer instruction is received.

  The facsimile apparatus may further include an identification unit that identifies a transmission source when the receiving unit receives a call while the control unit is controlling the receiving unit to reject the reception of the image data. When the transmission source is a transmission target transmission source registered in advance, the control unit can control the reception unit to receive the image data.

  According to this configuration, when a printer error occurs, it is possible to specify memory substitution reception and reception refusal according to the reception source. Therefore, for a transmission source that may receive a highly urgent document, without refusing reception. Even when there is a printer error, the memory can be received and then transferred.

  In the facsimile apparatus, when the abnormality is detected, the receiving unit presents received job information of at least one received job waiting for print output, and the received job presented to the presenting unit, A transfer receiving unit that receives a selection of a reception job to be transferred.

  According to this configuration, the user can selectively instruct a necessary job, and convenience is improved.

  It should be noted that any combination of the above-described constituent elements and a conversion of the expression of the present invention between a method, an apparatus, a system, a recording medium, a computer program, etc. are also effective as an aspect of the present invention.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a highly reliable facsimile apparatus capable of transferring image data received by proxy for memory to another facsimile apparatus when a serious printer abnormality occurs.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description will be omitted as appropriate.

  FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The facsimile apparatus (facsimile apparatus 10) of this embodiment includes a receiving unit (receiving unit 14) that receives image data, an image storage unit (image data storing unit 16) that stores image data received by the receiving unit, and an image. A printing unit (printing unit 18) that prints image data stored in the storage unit, a detection unit (error detection unit 20) that detects an abnormality that occurred during printing of the image data, and an abnormality detected by the detection unit If the determination unit (determination unit 24) that determines whether or not the registered transfer target is abnormal, and the determination unit determines that the abnormality is the transfer target, a call is made to a transfer destination that is registered in advance, and image storage is performed. A transfer unit (transfer unit 28) that reads and transfers image data from the unit, and a receiving unit so as to reject the reception of image data for subsequent incoming calls when the determination unit determines that the abnormality is a transfer target Control to control (Control unit 30), comprising a.

  The facsimile apparatus 10 is, for example, a G3 or G4 facsimile apparatus. In FIG. 1, the configuration of parts not related to the essence of the present invention is omitted, and for example, the image processing unit, the document reading unit, the paper storage unit, and the like, which are the configuration of the facsimile apparatus, are not shown.

  Each component of the facsimile machine 10 includes an arbitrary computer CPU, memory, a program for realizing the components shown in the figure loaded in the memory, a storage unit such as a hard disk for storing the program, and a network connection interface. It is realized by any combination of hardware and software. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that there are various modifications to the implementation method and apparatus. Each drawing described below shows a functional unit block, not a hardware unit configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the facsimile apparatus 10 includes an interface unit 12 (shown as “I / F” in the figure), a receiving unit 14, an image data storage unit 16, a printing unit 18, and an error detection unit 20. An error table 22, a determination unit 24, a transfer destination number storage unit 26 (shown as “transfer destination number” in the figure), a transfer unit 28, and a control unit 30.

  The interface unit 12 includes an NCU (not shown), and transmits and transmits another facsimile apparatus 3 (shown as “Fax1” in the drawing) via the public network 1 (shown as “PSTN” in the drawing). G3 facsimile communication is performed with the previous facsimile apparatus 5 (indicated as “Fax 2” in the figure). The receiving unit 14 includes an incoming call unit (not shown), and receives image data via the interface unit 12 in response to an incoming call from the transmission source facsimile apparatus 3 on the public line network 1. The image data storage unit 16 stores the image data received by the receiving unit 14. The image data storage unit 16 is, for example, a non-volatile memory, and the stored received data is erased from the image data storage unit 16 after being output by the printing unit 18 described later. The facsimile apparatus 10 of the present embodiment realizes so-called proxy memory reception by the receiving unit 14 and the image data storage unit 16.

  The printing unit 18 prints and outputs the image data stored in the image data storage unit 16. The error detection unit 20 detects an abnormality that has occurred in the printing unit 18 during printing of image data. It should be noted that the abnormality detection in the error detection unit 20 can be performed regularly at all times regardless of the presence or absence of a print job in the printing unit 18. As a result, the possibility that the reception of the image data at the time of occurrence of the abnormality can be rejected in advance is increased, and the danger such as the loss of the image data can be avoided.

  Abnormalities that occur when printing image data include, for example, out of paper, paper jam, out of toner, drum replacement, fixing unit abnormality, service man call, and the like. These error items are roughly classified into two types, those that can be easily repaired by the user and those that need repair by a service person or the like.

  In the case of an error that can be easily repaired by the user, it is only necessary to intercept the memory and print it out after the error has been repaired by the user, but in the case of a serious error that needs to be repaired by a serviceman, When the proxy is received by the memory, there is a risk that the image data stored in the image data storage unit 16 is erased before the restoration. In this case, since the error is not notified to the transmission source, the transmission source cannot recognize that a reception error has occurred due to a failure on the reception side.

  Therefore, in the case of a serious error, the facsimile apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment transfers the image data received by the proxy to a transfer destination registered in advance. As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the error table 22 can store the presence / absence of the transfer designation 33 in association with each error item 31. The error detection unit 20 detects an abnormality for the error item 31 registered in the error table 22. The facsimile machine 10 can include a reception unit (not shown) that accepts, for each error item 31 of the error table 22, designation of presence / absence of the transfer designation 33 performed by the user from an operation panel (not shown). For example, when replacement toner is at hand, “0” is set in the transfer specification 33 of “out of toner” in the error item 31 and transfer is set to be unnecessary, and if the replacement toner is out of stock, the error item 31 In this case, “1” is set in the transfer designation 33 of “out of toner”, and transfer is required.

  When the error detection unit 20 detects an abnormality, the determination unit 24 refers to the error table 22 and determines whether or not the transfer target is abnormal based on the transfer designation 33 corresponding to the detected error item 31 of the abnormality. To do. That is, when “1” is set in the transfer designation 33 corresponding to the detected error item 31 of the abnormality, it is determined that the abnormality is a transfer target. When “0” is set, it is determined that the transfer target is not set.

  The transfer destination number storage unit 26 registers the facsimile number of the transfer destination facsimile machine 5. The user can input the facsimile number of the destination facsimile apparatus 5 from the operation panel of the facsimile apparatus 10. The received facsimile number is received by a reception unit (not shown) and registered in the transfer destination number storage unit 26. be able to.

  The transfer unit 28 includes a calling unit (not shown), and if the determination unit 24 determines that the abnormality is a transfer target, the facsimile number of the transfer destination facsimile apparatus 5 registered in the image data storage unit 16. The image data is read from the image data storage unit 16 and transferred.

  When the determination unit 24 determines that the detected abnormality is a transfer target, the control unit 30 controls the reception unit 14 so as to refuse reception of image data by subsequent incoming calls. Here, reception refusal means that an incoming call is not received, that is, the line is not closed. This is not a problem if the destination facsimile machine 5 is in the immediate vicinity, but if it is in a remote location, the number of received originals to be transferred is reduced as much as possible to prevent loss of received originals and omission of confirmation. Is preferable.

  Note that the received document is received until the end of the series of jobs. In this case, it is preferable that the image data of the original after transfer is left as it is in the image data storage unit 16.

  The operation of the facsimile apparatus 10 configured as described above will be described below. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the facsimile machine 10 according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

  This processing starts when an incoming call is received from the facsimile machine 3 as a transmission source. First, the receiving unit 14 receives an incoming call from the facsimile machine 3 that is a transmission source, and starts memory substitution reception (S11). The receiving unit 14 stores the received image data in the image data storage unit 16. Subsequently, the printing unit 18 starts printing the image data stored in the image data storage unit 16 (S13). As for the operation of the printing unit 18, every time the receiving unit 14 receives one page of the document, the printing unit 18 prints the received image data one page at a time. Here, each step is described sequentially, but actually, for example, in step S11 and step S13, for example, one page is simultaneously executed in parallel. Subsequently, the error detection unit 20 checks whether or not a printer error has occurred (S15).

  If no printer error has occurred (NO in S15), it is confirmed whether or not all the image data received by the proxy is output to the image data storage unit 16 (S17). If the output of all the image data has been completed (YES in S17), this process ends. On the other hand, if the output has not been completed yet (NO in S17), the process returns to step S13.

  If a printer error has occurred (YES in S15), the determination unit 24 refers to the error table 22 and confirms the transfer designation 33 corresponding to the detected error item 31 (S19). For example, when the detected error item 31 is “out of paper” and the transfer designation 33 of the error table 22 in FIG. 2 is “0”, that is, transfer is not required (NO in S19), the control unit 30 determines that the facsimile apparatus 10 On the operation panel, a message, lamp display or sound output for notifying the occurrence of an error is performed (S21), and the print job is stopped (S22). Thereafter, the process returns to step S11, and the proxy memory reception is continued until the reception job is completed and until the remaining amount of memory in the image data storage unit 16 is exhausted.

  In this case, since the generated printer error is “out of paper” that can be repaired by the user, printing is performed after the user has repaired the error by supplying paper or the like.

  On the other hand, if the detected error item 31 is “service man call” and the transfer designation 33 of the error table 22 in FIG. 2 is “1”, that is, if transfer is required (YES in S19), the control unit 30 determines that the facsimile machine On the operation panel 10, a message for notification of transfer, lamp display, or audio output is performed (S 23), and the transfer unit 28 is instructed to transfer. The transfer notification message displays, for example, “A fatal printer error has occurred. The document in the memory will be transferred to the specified transfer destination”. The transfer unit 28 makes a call to a transfer destination registered in advance in the transfer destination number storage unit 26, and reads and transfers the image data stored in the image data storage unit 16 (S25). Further, the control unit 30 controls the receiving unit 14 so as to refuse the reception of the image data by the subsequent incoming call (S27), and ends this process.

  In the present embodiment, the error detection unit 20 always detects a printer error regularly. Accordingly, if the occurrence of a printer error is detected by the error detection unit 20 before step S11, when an incoming call is detected in step S11, the process proceeds to step S27 as it is.

  As described above, according to the facsimile machine 10 of the embodiment of the present invention, when a serious printer abnormality occurs, the image data received by the memory substitution can be transferred to another facsimile machine. The risk of losing image data before printing is reduced, and reliability is improved.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, these are the illustrations of this invention, Various structures other than the above are also employable.

  For example, when the transfer unit 28 transfers image data to a transfer destination, it can include a notification unit (not shown) that notifies the user of destination information of the transfer destination. For example, the notification unit can display the destination information on the operation panel of the facsimile apparatus 10. The destination information includes a transfer destination name and / or a facsimile number.

  In the above embodiment, when a printer error occurs, all subsequent image data reception is rejected. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, it is possible to switch between reception refusal or memory substitution reception according to the transmission source.

  In this embodiment, in the facsimile apparatus, the control unit 30 controls the receiving unit 14 so as to reject the reception of the image data. In the case where the transmission source is a transmission source that is registered in advance, the control unit 30 controls the reception unit 14 to receive the image data.

  An identification part can identify a transmission origin using the function corresponding to a transmission origin notification service, for example. Alternatively, identification can be performed based on the received FAX procedure signal.

  According to this configuration, since it is possible to specify the memory substitution reception and reception refusal at the time of a printer error for each transmission source, the reception source that may receive a highly urgent document is not rejected. Even when a printer error occurs, it is possible to perform an efficient operation such as receiving a substitute memory and then transferring it.

  In the above embodiment, the transfer destination is a facsimile number registered in advance in the transfer destination number storage unit 26, but is not limited thereto. For example, when a printer error occurs, the user is notified of the occurrence of the error and the details of the error by a message, lamp display, or voice output, and a message prompting the designation of the transfer destination is displayed, and the transfer destination specified by the user is accepted. It can also be configured. At this time, a transfer destination selected from an address book or a one-touch key registration destination may be accepted, or a directly entered facsimile number may be accepted.

  The contents of the error table 22 can be changed and registered by the user. As a result, the transfer operation can be customized for each user, which increases convenience.

  In the above embodiment, the transfer notification in step S23 of FIG. 3 is performed before the transfer, but is not limited thereto. A configuration may be adopted in which the transfer is notified after the transfer in step S25. Further, at the time of transfer notification in step S23, an instruction as to whether or not to transfer may be prompted. After receiving the transfer instruction, the process proceeds to step S25, and transfer can be performed to a transfer destination registered in advance.

  In the above embodiment, the transfer is automatically performed if there is a transfer designation. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, before executing the transfer operation, a message for confirming whether or not transfer is necessary may be displayed for the user to prompt an instruction. For example, the message “A fatal printer error has occurred. Do you want to transfer the original document received on behalf of the memory to the registered transfer destination?” Is displayed on the operation panel or output by voice. The transfer unit 28 controls the transfer operation in accordance with the user's transfer necessity instruction. Further, the name of the registered transfer destination and the facsimile number may be displayed in the message.

  In this embodiment, the facsimile apparatus is presented to the presentation unit (not shown) that presents the received job information of at least one proxy reception job that is received by the reception unit and waiting for print output when an abnormality is detected. And a transfer receiving unit that receives selection of a proxy reception job to be transferred among the proxy reception jobs. Here, when there are a plurality of proxy reception jobs that are not printed in the image data storage unit 16, job identification information, for example, sender information, reception date and time, number of receptions, etc. are displayed on the operation panel and transferred by the user. It is possible to select a substitute reception job to be selected.

  According to this configuration, the user can selectively instruct a necessary job, and convenience is improved. In this case, the transferred proxy reception job is preferably deleted from the image data storage unit 16.

  In addition, a reception unit (not shown) that receives a setting as to whether or not to delete the transferred proxy reception job from the image data storage unit 16 may be included. These can also be set according to conditions such as the sender and the number of received originals. The image data of the proxy reception job remaining in the image data storage unit 16 is manually printed by the printing unit 18 by a user's print instruction operation by the user after the failure is eliminated, and is erased from the image data storage unit 16 after printing. can do.

1 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the structure of the error table of FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the facsimile apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Public network 3 Transmission facsimile machine 5 Transfer destination facsimile machine 10 Facsimile machine 12 Interface unit 14 Reception unit 16 Image data storage unit 18 Printing unit 20 Error detection unit 22 Error table 24 Judgment unit 26 Transfer destination number storage unit 28 Transfer unit 30 Control unit 31 Error item 33 Transfer specification

Claims (6)

A receiving unit for receiving image data;
An image storage unit for storing the image data received by the reception unit;
A printing unit for printing the image data stored in the image storage unit;
A detection unit for detecting an abnormality that occurred during printing of the image data;
A determination unit that determines whether the abnormality detected by the detection unit is a transfer target abnormality registered in advance;
When the determination unit determines that the abnormality is the transfer target, a call is made to a transfer destination registered in advance, and the transfer unit reads and transfers the image data from the image storage unit;
And a control unit that controls the receiving unit so as to reject the reception of image data by a subsequent incoming call when the determining unit determines that the abnormality is the transfer target. Facsimile device. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1,
A facsimile apparatus comprising: a notifying unit that notifies when the detecting unit detects the abnormality. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A facsimile apparatus comprising a notification unit for notifying destination information of the transfer destination. The facsimile apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A reception unit that receives a transfer instruction indicating whether or not to perform transfer by the transfer unit;
The facsimile apparatus, wherein when the transfer instruction is received, the transfer unit transfers the image data. The facsimile apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
In a state where the control unit is controlling the receiving unit so as to refuse the reception of the image data, including an identification unit that identifies a transmission source when the receiving unit receives a call,
2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the receiving unit to receive the image data when the transmission source is a transmission source that is registered in advance. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 4 or 5,
A presentation unit that presents received job information of at least one received job that is received by the receiving unit and is waiting for print output when the abnormality is detected;
A facsimile apparatus, comprising: a transfer receiving unit that receives a selection of a received job to be transferred among the received jobs presented to the presenting unit.

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