JP2544743B2 - Fax machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Object of the Invention (Industrial field of application) The present invention notifies the capabilities of a communication partner and a terminal device to each other, and determines the operation mode to be communicated according to the acquired capabilities. The present invention relates to a facsimile device that determines and communicates, and particularly relates to improvement of a learning function of the capability of a partner terminal device during communication.

(Prior Art) Some facsimile machines in a facsimile communication system are provided with a learning function of the capability of a partner terminal apparatus. In communication in this type of facsimile machine, a predetermined procedure is executed with the other party to communicate with for the first time.
Be sure to perform capability exchange (hereinafter referred to as negotiation) with the communication partner to know the capability of the partner terminal device, and store it. The second and subsequent communication with the other party is performed according to the stored capability of the other party's terminal device, and no negotiation is performed. Therefore, the capability of the partner terminal device is determined only by the negotiation during the first communication. Therefore, even if the communication capability of the terminal device is improved, there is a problem that the communication capability corresponding to it cannot be immediately exhibited.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the conventional technique, the negotiation is always performed in the first communication with the partner, but the negotiation is not performed in the second and subsequent communication with the same partner. The device capability is specified by the first communication and is not updated thereafter. Therefore, even if the capabilities of both terminal devices are both improved, since there is no opportunity for negotiation, it is not possible to recognize that the capabilities of the other terminal device have increased, and eventually use the new capabilities. There was a big problem that it could not communicate and could only communicate with the old capability.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to update the already-stored partner terminal device capability as needed, and when the capabilities of both the own terminal device and the partner terminal device are improved,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus having a new function of learning the capability of a partner terminal device, which enables quick communication with higher functions.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving Problems) In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object,
The following measures were taken. That is, partner capability registration means for storing the capability of the partner terminal device with which communication is performed,
When communicating with a partner terminal device whose capability information is registered in the partner capability registering means, a means for determining an operation mode according to the information stored in the partner capability registering means and performing communication, and a means for performing this communication. A capability comparing unit for comparing the capability of the partner terminal device stored in the partner capability registering unit with the capability of the self terminal device, and when a capability change of the self terminal device is detected by this capability comparison, information on the capability change is displayed. A notification means for notifying the partner terminal device and a means for updating the partner terminal device capability registered by the partner capability registration device in response to a response to the notification of capability change from the partner terminal device did.

(Operation) When it is determined that communication with a new capability as compared with the communication capability up to now is possible by taking such a measure, the communication protocol between the communication terminal devices executing at the time of communication. A notification for a change in ability is given in
It is possible to update the abilities registered in the other party. As a result, when the capabilities of the own terminal device and the partner terminal device are both improved, it becomes possible to quickly perform communication with a higher function.

(Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this device, a transmission scanning document set on a document table (not shown) is sub-scanned by the scanning scanning unit 1 to be read one by one, and an image signal obtained thereby is encoded by an encoding unit 2 and then a control unit 3 is provided. It is introduced into the transmission / reception unit 4 via The transmission / reception unit 4 includes a modulation / demodulation circuit (MOD) 4a and a network control circuit (NCU) 4b. The coded image signal is modulated by the MOD 4a, and then is transmitted as image data via the NCU 4b to a wired line 5 such as a subscriber line. Send to. In addition, 6 is
This is a telephone which is selectively connected to the above-mentioned wired line 5 by a NCU 4b and a facsimile device.

On the other hand, when the image data arrives via the wired line 5, this device demodulates the image data via the NCU 4a by the MOD 4b and then guides the image data to the decoding unit 7 via the control unit 3 to be decoded by the decoding unit 7. . Then, the decoded image signal is introduced into the recording scanning unit 8 and recording scanning is performed on the recording paper here. Further, the present apparatus is provided with a memory 10 and an operation panel 9 in which a key input section 9a including dial keys and various function keys and a display 9b such as a liquid crystal display are arranged. Of these, memory 10
Stores the function and the like of the partner terminal device that has been communicated in the past, and includes the partner capability registration means in the present invention.

By the way, in the present facsimile apparatus, by the function of the control unit 3, the capability of the partner terminal device that has executed the communication is stored in the partner capability registration means, that is, the memory 10, and this memory 10 is stored.
The capability of the other terminal device stored in the device and the capability of the own terminal device are compared by the capability comparing means, and the other terminal device is notified of the change in the communication capability according to the result of the capability comparison by this capability comparing means. The capacity of the partner terminal device registered in the memory 10 can be updated in a timely manner in response to a response from the partner terminal device to the notification. This point will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a control operation by the control unit 3,
The figure is a diagram showing a response state between the own terminal device and the partner terminal device. The control operation of this apparatus will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

At the start of communication, first, it is repeatedly determined in step 20a and step 20b in FIG. 2 whether an incoming call or an outgoing call is made.
As a result, if it is an incoming call, incoming control is performed. If it is a call, it is determined in step 20c whether or not it is the first communication partner, and as a result, it is determined that the communication partner is the first communication partner, that is, a partner not registered in the memory 10. Receives the capability information (NSF, DIS) 31 of the partner terminal device shown in FIG. 3 issued from the partner terminal device in step 20d, and stores this information in memory in step 20e.
Register 10 and move to step 20f. When it is determined in step 20c that the communication partner is the second or subsequent partner, that is, the partner registered in the memory 10, the process directly proceeds to step 20f.

In step 20f, the capability information 31 of the partner terminal device received in the negotiation of step 20d or step 20c
The contents of the memory 10 when it is judged that the communication partner is the second or later partner is compared with the capability of the terminal device itself, and the communication mode is determined according to the requested operation mode. Next step
In 20 g, compare the ability of the other terminal device stored in the memory 10 with the ability of the own terminal device, and if the ability of the own terminal device is different from the ability of the other terminal device, there is a change in the own terminal capability. In 20h, preparation is made to notify the other terminal capability that the capability of the own terminal device has changed, that is, a new NSS is created and the process proceeds to step 20i. If the capability of the partner terminal device and the capability of the self terminal device are the same in step 20g, there is no change in the capability of the self terminal device, so the process directly moves to step 20i.

Next, in step 20i, a communication start instruction, that is, 3 shown in FIG.
Each signal in 2 is transmitted, but if the capacity of the own terminal device is changed at this time, the NSS 32a prepared in step 20h is sent to the partner terminal device, and the partner terminal device is notified that the capacity has been changed. Tell. Next, in step 20j, the response from the partner terminal device to the communication start instruction, that is, the CFR 33 shown in FIG. 3 is received, and it is judged whether or not the response to the capability change notification of the own terminal device is included in this CFR 33 To determine whether or not This step 20j
As a result of the judgment in the above, if the response to the capability change notification of the own terminal device is contained in the CFR33, it is necessary to change the stored partner capability, so the information on the partner terminal capability stored in the memory 10 is stored. , And move to step 20l.
The information on the capability of the partner terminal thus rewritten is used from the next communication. As a result of the determination in step 20j, if the CFR 33 does not include a response to the capability change notification of the terminal device itself, it is not necessary to change the stored capability of the other party, so the process directly proceeds to step 20l.

Next, in steps 20l and 20m, the image signal 35 for one page of the current facsimile information is transmitted. After the transmission of one page is completed, the presence or absence of the next page is determined in step 20n, and if there is the next page, the process returns to step 20l and step 2 is performed.
The operation after 0l is repeated. Step if there is no next page
Move to 20r to control the disconnection of the line and terminate the communication.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when it is determined that communication with a new capability is possible as compared with the communication capability up to now, the communication protocol between the communication terminal devices is executing during communication. A notification for changing the ability is given, and it becomes possible to update the ability registered in the other party. As a result, when both the capability of the own terminal device and the capability of the partner terminal device are improved, it becomes possible to promptly execute communication with a higher function.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the present embodiment, the information on the capability of the partner terminal is stored, but the operation mode determined with the partner terminal may be stored in association with the partner terminal. Of course, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, communication is performed between a partner capability registration unit that stores the capability of a partner terminal unit that has performed communication and a partner terminal unit whose capability is registered in this partner capability registration unit. Means for determining an operation mode according to the information stored in the partner capability registration means for communication, and the capability of the partner terminal device and the capability of the own terminal device stored in the partner capability registration means at the time of this communication. An ability comparison means for comparing
When a capability change of the own terminal device is detected by this capability comparison, notification means for notifying the partner terminal device of the capability change information, and the partner capability registration means according to the response of the capability change from the partner terminal device to this notification. Since it is provided with a means for updating the capability of the partner terminal device registered in, it is possible to update the capability of the partner terminal device that has already been stored, if necessary, and the own terminal device and the partner terminal device can be updated. When both the capabilities of the other terminal are improved, it is possible to provide a facsimile apparatus having a learning function of the capability of the partner terminal device of the new system, which enables quick communication with a higher function.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a facsimile apparatus in an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a control operation by a control unit of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a self-terminal device of the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state of the response with a partner terminal device. 1 ... reading scanning unit, 2 ... encoding unit, 3 ... control unit, 4
...... Transceiver, 4a …… Modulation and demodulation circuit, 4b …… Network control circuit,
5 ... Wired line, 6 ... Telephone, 7 ... Decoding section, 8 ...
… Recording scan section, 9 …… Operation panel, 9a …… Key input section,
9b ... Display, 10 ... Memory.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A facsimile apparatus which communicates the capabilities of a communication partner and a terminal device with each other, determines an operation mode for communication in accordance with the acquired mutual capabilities, and performs communication in a facsimile device When communication is performed between the partner ability registering means for storing the ability and the partner terminal device whose ability information is registered in the partner ability registering means, the operation mode is set in accordance with the information stored in the partner ability registering means. Means for determining and communicating, capability comparing means for comparing the capability of the partner terminal device stored in the partner capability registering device with the capability of the own terminal device at the time of this communication, and the capability of the own terminal device by this capability comparison. When a change is detected, notification means for notifying the partner terminal device of the information of the capacity change, and according to the response of the capacity change from the partner terminal device to this notification,
And a means for updating the capability of the partner terminal device registered by the partner capability registration means. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the notification of the capability change information to the partner terminal apparatus is performed prior to the transmission of the image signal in the determined operation mode.