JP2015142165A - Image communication apparatus, control method of the same, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image communication apparatus that prevents a failure of a communication unit of the image communication apparatus caused by erroneous insertion of a line and prevents occurrence of a malfunction beforehand.SOLUTION: When a digital line such as a business phone is mistakenly inserted into a telephone line connection connector of an image communication apparatus having a facsimile communication function, line type determination is performed by a line diagnosis part 31. In a case of an analog line, a line connection is made possible. In cases other than the analog line, a connection is not established and a notification of the state is made to a user.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image communication apparatus, a control method therefor, and a program, and more particularly to a technique for preventing erroneous insertion of a telephone line.

  In recent years, a semiconductor data access device (hereinafter referred to as “DAA”) is used as an interface between a modem for facsimile communication and a telephone line. Since DAA plays the role of NCU (network control unit) and is composed of semiconductor ICs, it is also called SDAA (Silicon DAA).

  The facsimile communication unit is composed of MODEM, DAA / calling signal detection circuit, telephone off-hook detection circuit, and discrete components for noise suppression. The DAA is made into a semiconductor as described above, but the peripheral circuit is composed of a discrete circuit recommended by the manufacturer. The DAA including the discrete circuit around the DAA is used.

  Facsimile machines are deployed all over the world, and MODEM and DAA support for each country is set according to the standards of each country by setting country codes. It is possible to comply with the standards of each country by the operation according to this set value.

  The call signal and the off-hook detection of the telephone are performed by dedicated circuits. The call signal is detected by a call signal detection circuit. The off-hook detection of the telephone is composed of an off-hook detection circuit.

  On the other hand, with the diversification (digitization) of communication systems using telephone lines, there are configurations that use circuit signals of various communication systems for conventional circuits. When a digital line is connected to an image communication apparatus that supports analog lines, problems such as communication problems and circuit failures occur due to differences in communication methods. In DAA, when a circuit overcurrent or overvoltage is detected and a current or voltage value exceeding a predetermined value is detected, the DC resistance at DAA line capture is controlled to be high or the line release is controlled. There is a function to prevent circuit destruction. However, since the situation where the power of the digital line cannot be largely protected with only the DAA function has occurred, countermeasures are required.

  In Patent Document 1, when a failure occurs in a line interface, an incoming call through the line is not performed. Therefore, the incoming call monitoring circuit detects the failure, and a test communication program can automatically detect the presence or absence of the abnormality. is there.

JP-A-8-214081

  A conventional image communication apparatus is configured to use an analog signal of a communication line and does not have a function of discriminating between an analog signal and a digital signal. For this reason, if a digital line that is not matched by mistake is connected, a line connection error or failure occurs. If the connectors for connecting the communication lines are different, they are not connected, but the modular connectors for connecting the communication lines are the same. Moreover, the same pin numbers are used. If it is inserted incorrectly, there is no defense. For example, when a digital line of a business phone is connected to an analog FAX, the FAX circuit may break down because the line specifications are different. A connection example of a business phone is shown in FIG.

  The business phone main device 41 is installed in various places regardless of the size of the building. The business phone main apparatus 41 can be connected to a plurality of business phone terminals 43, FAX, and general telephone 45 with respect to the representative telephone number. The line 42 is a digital line dedicated to business phones and employs a unique interface for each manufacturer. The line specifications are not open to the public. The line 44 is a conventional analog line and is similar to a PSTN line (general analog subscriber telephone line network). The line 42 and the line 44 have the same line connector, modular jack size, and number of pins (FIG. 3B). Although the power supply specifications are different, the same signal line is used with the same RJ-11 connector.

  4A and 4B show the voltage when the PSTN line and the business phone line are released, the current value when the line is captured, and the line voltage at that time. The line voltage 60 when the PSTN line is released is about 48V. On the other hand, the line current when the line is captured is about 100 mA, and the line voltage 61 is about 10V. The line current and voltage are controlled by the main unit. If the line current of the PSTN line is 100 mA, the facsimile apparatus that performs analog communication will not break down.

  On the other hand, the line voltage 64 when the business phone line is released is about 50V, the line current when the line is captured is 400 mA, and the line voltage 65 is about 50V. This feature is that the line current does not decrease even if the line current is large. When this business phone line is connected to an analog communication terminal such as a facsimile machine, it cannot withstand the line current, and the line capture circuit and the peripheral circuit may be damaged.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for preventing a failure of a communication unit of an image communication apparatus due to a mistake in inserting a line and preventing the occurrence of a defect. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image communication apparatus according to the present invention comprises an image communication apparatus comprising communication means for performing facsimile communication, a line diagnosis means for diagnosing a type of a line connected to the image communication apparatus, and the line A switching means for switching the connection between the diagnosis means and the line to a connection between the communication means and the line; and when the line diagnosis means diagnoses the line as an analog line, the switching means switches the connection. And a control means.

  According to the present invention, when a digital line such as a business phone is mistakenly inserted into a telephone line connection connector of an image communication apparatus having a facsimile communication function by mistake, the line type is determined by the line diagnosis means. In the case of an analog line, the line connection is possible, and in the case of other than the analog line, the state is not connected and the user is notified of the state. With this control, it is possible to prevent circuit destruction due to erroneous insertion of a line.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram illustrating a detailed configuration of a FAX unit 14 in FIG. 1. (A) The figure which shows the example of a connection of a business phone, (b) It is a front view of a modular connector. (A) Comparison of line current and line voltage at the time of line opening and line capture in a PSTN line, (b) Comparison of line current and line voltage at the time of line opening and line capture in a business phone line. is there. 2 is a flowchart showing a flow of operations from power ON to communication end in the image communication apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the line diagnosis process in FIG.5 S5.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The present invention is applied to all image communication apparatuses having a facsimile communication function. In particular, since the PTT standard for facsimile communication varies from country to country, it is applied to such an image communication apparatus that is required to support each country.

  1, the image communication apparatus includes a system control unit 1 that controls the entire system and main functions, a reading unit 12, a recording unit 13, an operation unit 16, a FAX unit 14, a switching circuit 30, and a line diagnosis unit 31. Is provided. The FAX unit 14, the switching circuit 30, and the FAX unit 14 constitute a communication control unit. The switching circuit 30 can be connected to an external public line.

  The system control unit 1 includes a control unit 10 and a memory unit 11. The control unit 10 includes a system control LSI and a CPU, and controls the entire apparatus according to a program stored in the ROM 20 included in the memory unit 11. The ROM 20 is a flash memory, and stores a boot program and a main program for controlling the system in a compressed manner. The RAM 21 of the memory unit 11 is constituted by a DRAM or SRAM and stores various data. The DRAM is also a program execution area. The control unit 10 develops and executes the main program compressed and stored in the ROM 20 on the DRAM of the memory unit 11 when the apparatus is activated. The non-volatile memory 22 is a memory that stores data that should be stored such as an image even when the apparatus is powered off. For example, a communication destination name, dial information, a communication result record, and the like are stored.

  The system control unit 1 is connected to a reading unit 12, a recording unit 13, an operation unit 16, and a FAX unit 14. The reading unit 12 performs image processing on data read using a CCD or CMOS line sensor (not shown) under the control of the control unit 10, and stores the data in the RAM 21 or the nonvolatile memory 22. The recording unit 13 is configured by, for example, LBP, takes out the recording data stored in the RAM 21 or the non-volatile memory 22 under the control of the control unit 10, sends it to the recording unit 13, and prints it out as a hard copy. . The operation unit 16 performs operations in various operation modes, and includes input switches and a display unit.

  The FAX unit 14 is connected to the switching circuit 30 and controls facsimile communication.

  The line diagnosis unit 31 has a function of determining the type of line, a line capturing circuit 32 that captures a line with a predetermined line current, a line voltage measuring circuit 33 that measures a line voltage at each line current value, It is composed of a bridge diode 34 for full-wave rectification of the line. The switching circuit 30 is connected to the A side during standby.

  The line voltage measurement circuit 33 is composed of a comparator and a circuit constituting a reference voltage, and always measures and monitors the line voltage. Then, when a line is connected to the line 4 with a modular cable and a DC voltage is applied to the inter-line voltage measuring circuit 33 and the voltage is measured, it is understood from the voltage value that the line is connected.

  The bridge diode 34 is a full-wave rectifier circuit that always connects the connected voltage to the line voltage measurement circuit 33 with the same polarity. When the voltage is detected by the line voltage measurement circuit 33, the line voltage measurement circuit 33 detects a plurality of times at a predetermined interval.

  Next, a predetermined current is passed through the line acquisition circuit 32, and the voltage is measured by the line voltage measurement circuit 33. When the voltage can be measured, the value of the predetermined current is changed and the voltage is further measured. It is determined from the current value and the voltage value at this time whether the line shows the characteristics of the PSTN line, and it is determined whether the line is an analog line or not. If it is determined that the line is an analog line, it waits as it is, detects a call signal, and when a call signal is detected, the switching circuit 30 is switched to the B side to perform facsimile communication.

  FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a detailed configuration of the FAX unit 14 in FIG.

  The FAX unit 14 is composed of MODEM 2 and semiconductor DAA 3 necessary for facsimile communication control, a call signal detection circuit 5, an off-hook detection circuit 6, and a discrete component for line control. In order to prevent circuit breakdown due to lightning surge, a varistor 7 is mounted between the lines and an arrester 9 is mounted between the line and GND. The varistor 7 and the arrester 9 prevent circuit destruction due to surge noise such as lightning surge noise in normal mode or common mode applied to the line.

  The MODEM 2 includes a G3 modem that conforms to the ITUT recommendation and a clock generation circuit connected to the modem. The MODEM 2 modulates transmission data stored in the RAM 21 and the non-volatile memory 22 based on the control of the control unit 10 in the system control unit 1 and outputs it to the telephone line 4 via the DAA 3. . In addition, reception data of facsimile communication is received and stored in the RAM 21 or the nonvolatile memory 22.

  MODEM2 has the following functions. A DAA interface for connecting to the DAA 3, a serial interface for connecting to the system control unit 1, image data modulation / demodulation, communication procedure control, and the like.

  The DAA 3 is a semiconductor data access device. MODEM2 has a control system using a Command set, and supports Super-G3 FAX communication.

  The DAA 3 has the following functions: DC termination (line acquisition), AC termination, call signal voltage detection, inter-line impedance adjustment function, Isolation interface, and the like.

  The MODEM 2 introduces an analog signal received from the telephone line 4 via the DAA 3 and demodulates it. Then, the system control unit 1 stores the image in the RAM 21 or the nonvolatile memory 22 in the form of an image such as JBIG. The capacitor 8 that connects MODEM2 and DAA3 is intended for an interface and isolation for communication between MODEM2 and DAA3.

  FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a connection example of a business phone.

  Reference numeral 41 denotes a main device of a business phone. The telephone can be used only after connecting to the business phone main apparatus 41. The telephone is a business phone terminal 43 or a FAX or a general telephone 45.

  The business phone terminal 43 is configured to communicate with a dedicated digital signal. The FAX and the general telephone 45 are communicated with analog signals. The communication system is a telephone network with a fixed telephone line having the same characteristics as those of a public switched telephone network and PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network).

  The connection between the telephone station 40 and the business phone main apparatus 41 is digitized. The business phone main apparatus 41 is an example of the number of line connections, although many models are put on the market. Outside line: Up to about 200 lines, extension line: Up to about 600 units. Therefore, the environment used is various. As described above, it is compatible with multiple lines, and the communication method of the line 42 dedicated to the business phone terminal is a digital method. The digital communication system of the business phone main device 41 is an original system dedicated to each company and is not open to the public. On the other hand, the line 44 of the FAX or the general telephone 45 is an analog line that handles analog signals as described above.

  The modular connectors of the lines 42 and 44 are configured in a front pin array 46 as shown in FIG. The central pin 2 of the signal line is used for digital signal or analog signal communication. Since both the connection terminals of the line 42 and the line 44 are the same and the signal pins are also the same, it can be easily imagined that the connection ports of both the connection terminals are mistakenly inserted. If a wrong insertion is made, the communication control unit including the FAX unit 14 and the like may be damaged in an image communication apparatus that handles analog signals such as a FAX or a general telephone 45.

  FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams comparing the line current and the line voltage when the public line is opened and when the line is captured in the PSTN line and the business phone line.

  In the case of a PSTN line, the line current is controlled by the business phone main device 41. The left side of FIG. 4A shows when the PSTN line is released. The line voltage 60 at this time is 48V. On the other hand, as shown on the right side of FIG. 4A, the line voltage 61 at the time of line capture when a line current of 100 mA is passed through the PSTN line is about 10V.

  In the case of a business phone line, digital control is used, and the line voltage due to the line current value hardly changes. For example, when the line current is 400 mA, the line voltage is 50 V, which is the same level as when the line is released. The left side of FIG. 4B shows a business phone line when it is off-hook (when the line is released). The line voltage 64 at this time is about 50V. On the other hand, as shown on the right side of FIG. 4B, the line voltage 65 is about 50 V when a line capture current of about 400 mA is passed through the business phone line. That is, the line current of the business phone line is larger than the line current of the PSTN line. Even in this case, the line voltage is characterized by maintaining about 50V.

  If the line 42 dedicated to the business phone terminal is mistakenly connected to the line 44 to which a FAX or a general telephone 45 can be connected, and the modular of the business phone terminal 43 is inserted into the analog line 44, the terminal does not operate. There is no failure. On the other hand, when a FAX or general telephone 45 is connected to the line 42 dedicated to the business phone terminal, a line current of about 400 mA flows as described above when the line is captured. In the facsimile apparatus, the line capturing circuit 32 and the DAA 3 may be damaged due to overheating due to this current. Various countermeasures against such erroneous connection have been proposed, but there is no effective means at present.

  In the present embodiment, line diagnosis is performed by the line diagnosis unit 31 before connecting the line to the FAX unit 14, and it is possible to prevent a failure due to incorrect connection.

  Next, a process for determining erroneous insertion of a line by the line diagnosis unit 31 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation flow from power ON to the end of communication in the image communication apparatus of FIG.

  When detecting that the image communication apparatus is powered on, the system control unit 1 starts control of each unit by the CPU of the control unit 10 (step S2).

  Next, in step S3, the system control unit 1 switches the switching circuit 30 so that the line 4 is connected to the line diagnosis unit 31 as a default (initial state).

  In step S4, the system control unit 1 determines whether or not there is a connection to the line. Specifically, it is determined whether a line is inserted using the line diagnosis unit 31. For example, the voltage at the time of line release is measured by the line voltage measurement circuit 33, and if the measurement result is 48V to 50V, it can be determined that some line is connected. In step S4, for example, the system control unit 1 functions as a connection determination unit.

  If it is determined in step S4 that there is a line connection, the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S4 that there is no line connection, the system control unit 1 performs control for prompting the user to connect the line (step S7). For example, an error sound is sounded and a message prompting line connection is displayed on the display unit of the operation unit 16. Then, it returns to step S4.

  In step S5, line diagnosis processing by the line diagnosis unit 31 is performed. Details of this step will be described later. In step S5, for example, the system control unit 1, the line diagnosis unit 31, the FAX unit 14, and the switching circuit 30 function as a line diagnosis unit.

  In step S6, the system control unit 1 determines whether the line is an analog line or a digital line from the diagnosis result in step S5. If it is determined that the line is a digital line, the process proceeds to step S13 to notify the user of line information and prompt the user to reconnect the line. As a notification method, an error sound is sounded and a predetermined notification content (message) is displayed on the display unit of the operation unit 16. Note that the notification method is not limited to these.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S6 that the line is an analog line, the process proceeds to step S8, where the system control unit 1 switches the line 4 from the line diagnosis unit 31 side to the FAX unit 14 side by the switching circuit 30 and performs incoming call detection.

  If it is determined in step S8 that there is an incoming call, the process proceeds to step S9 to perform FAX communication. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S8 that there is no incoming call, this process is terminated.

  In step S10, the system control unit 1 determines whether or not the line is disconnected during the FAX communication. If it is determined that the line has been disconnected, the process returns to step S3. On the other hand, if it is determined that the line has not been disconnected, the process proceeds to step S11, and it is determined whether or not the FAX communication is completed. If it is determined that the FAX communication has not ended, the process returns to step S10, whereas if the FAX communication has ended, this process ends. In step S10, for example, the system control unit 1 functions as an insertion / extraction determination unit.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing details of the line diagnosis process in step S5 of FIG.

  During standby, the switching circuit 30 is connected to the A side in FIG. The line voltage measurement circuit 33 in the line diagnosis unit 31 constantly monitors the line voltage. When a modular cable is connected to the line 4 and a DC voltage is applied to the inter-line voltage measuring circuit 33 and the voltage is measured, it can be seen from the voltage value that the line is connected.

  In step S <b> 21, the system control unit 1 causes the line diagnosis unit 31 to measure the line voltage when the line is released, and stores it in the memory unit 11.

  Next, the system control unit 1 captures the line by flowing a predetermined current 1 (first predetermined current) (step S22), and the line diagnosis unit 31 causes the line voltage at that time (first line voltage) to be obtained. ) Is measured and stored in the memory unit 11 (step S23).

  Furthermore, the system control unit 1 captures the line by supplying a predetermined current 2 (second predetermined current) (step S24), and the line diagnosis unit 31 causes the line voltage at that time (second line voltage) to be obtained. Is measured and stored in the memory unit 11 (step S25). Note that the values of the predetermined current 1 and the predetermined current 2 are determined from the characteristics of the analog line.

  In step S26, the system control unit 1 determines the line type by comparing the measurement results in steps S23 and S25 with a preset reference value. For example, in the case of an analog line, the relationship between the voltage and the current is proportional, the line current is 20 mA to 100 mA, and the line voltage is about 10V. The voltage when the line is released is about 48V. On the other hand, in the case of a digital line, the line current is 10 mA to 100 mA and the line voltage is about 50V. It is possible to discriminate from these values.

  According to the above embodiment, the line diagnosis unit 31 determines the line type when a digital line such as a business phone is mistakenly inserted into the telephone line connection connector of the image communication apparatus having the facsimile communication function. In the case of an analog line, the line connection is possible, and in the case of other than the analog line, the state is not connected and the user is notified of the state. As a result, it is possible to prevent circuit destruction due to erroneous insertion of the line.

  The present invention can also be realized by executing the following processing. That is, software (program) that realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or apparatus via a network or various storage media, and a computer (or CPU, MPU, or the like) of the system or apparatus reads the program. It is a process to be executed.

1 System control unit 2 MODEM
3 DAA
4 Telephone line 5 Call signal detection circuit 6 Off-hook detection circuit 14 FAX unit 31 Line diagnosis unit 32 Line capture circuit 33 Line voltage measurement circuit

Claims (8)

In an image communication apparatus provided with communication means for performing facsimile communication,
Line diagnosis means for diagnosing the type of the line connected to the image communication device;
Switching means for switching the connection between the line diagnosis means and the line to the connection between the communication means and the line;
An image communication apparatus comprising: control means for switching by the switching means when the line diagnosis means diagnoses the line as an analog line.   The image communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit notifies the user of line information when the line diagnosis unit determines that the line is other than an analog line, and prompts the user to replace the line.   2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein when the line diagnosis unit determines that the line is other than an analog line, the control unit sounds an error sound and displays a message to prompt the user to replace the line. Image communication device.   4. The image communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the switching unit sets a state in which the line diagnosis unit and the line are connected as an initial state. 5. Further comprising an insertion / removal determination means for determining whether or not a line has been disconnected during communication by the communication means;
5. The image communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the line diagnosis unit performs line diagnosis when it is determined that the line is disconnected by the insertion / extraction determination unit. 6. The line diagnosis means
First measuring means for measuring a voltage between lines when the line is opened and storing the voltage in the storage means;
A second measuring means for measuring a first line voltage when a first predetermined current is passed and storing it in the storage means;
A third measuring means for measuring a second line voltage when a second predetermined current different from the first predetermined current is passed and storing it in the storage means;
The line type is determined by comparing the line-to-line voltage, the first line-to-line voltage, and the second line-to-line voltage stored in the storage means with a preset reference value. Item 6. The image communication apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 5. In a control method of an image communication apparatus provided with communication means for performing facsimile communication,
A line diagnosis step by line diagnosis means for diagnosing the type of the line connected to the image communication device;
A switching step of switching the connection of the line diagnosis means and the line to the connection of the communication means and the line;
And a control step of performing switching by the switching step when the line is diagnosed as an analog line in the line diagnosis step. A computer-readable program for causing an image communication apparatus to execute the control method according to claim 7.

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