JP2549520B2 - Facsimile usage fee output method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description [Table of Contents] Outline Industrial field of application Conventional technology Problems to be solved by the invention Means for solving problems (FIG. 1) Action Example (a) of one embodiment Description (FIGS. 2, 3, and 4) (b) Description of Other Embodiments [Effect of the Invention] [Outline] In a facsimile performing a facsimile service,
The control unit calculates the usage fee, and the facsimile recording unit records and outputs it in a machine-readable format so that the usage result is automatically output and the fee is easily settled.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a usage charge output method for outputting a usage charge of a facsimile service in a format that is easy to settle in a facsimile provided so that a user can receive a facsimile service at a store or the like.

In recent years, there has been an increasing desire to provide a facsimile service to a large number of unspecified persons at a facsimile, such as a copying service business of a copying machine. If such a facsimile service is provided, a person who does not have a facsimile can use the facsimile, which is extremely convenient.

In such a facsimile service, it is desirable that the usage fee be easily cleared.

[Conventional technology]

Among conventional facsimiles, there are known ones that record and output the communication time and the number of sheets, and one that displays the communication fee required for communication.

In order to settle the usage fee of the above-mentioned facsimile service from such a facsimile, the usage fee is calculated from the communication time, the number of sheets, etc. output by the clerk, or the usage fee is calculated from the displayed communication fee, etc. It was considered that a clerk, etc., would manually pay a fee to the register to make a settlement.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, in the related art, there is a problem that a human needs to calculate the usage fee, which is troublesome, and there is also a problem that an input error may occur because the fee is entered in the register, which is extremely troublesome for the liquidation. It was hanging.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile usage fee output system which can facilitate clearing of a facsimile service.

[Means for solving problems]

 FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the principle of the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a reading unit for reading a document and inputting image information, 2 is a control unit for transmitting image information, 3 is a recording unit for outputting image information The control unit 2 calculates the usage fee after the facsimile service (a), creates machine-readable print data (b), and stores the clearing sheet RP in the recording unit 3 in a machine-readable format. I am trying to record it.

[Action]

According to the present invention, the usage fee (collection fee) is automatically calculated to save the labor of calculation, and by recording and outputting in a machine-readable format such as a barcode, the usage fee can be read and input by the reading device of the register. I am trying.

Therefore, settlement of the use of the facsimile becomes extremely easy, and the usage fee can be surely and easily input.

〔Example〕

 (A) Description of an Embodiment FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, the same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same symbols, and 10 is an operation panel for inputting a destination telephone number, transmission instruction, recording instruction, copying instruction, number of sheets instruction and the like. Numeral 11 is a memory, which is composed of a magnetic disk or the like, and which is provided with a table for usage charges in addition to storing image information and control information, and 12 is a line controller, The line control for transmission and reception, 13 is a main control unit, transmission control, input image information encoding processing,
It is used to perform reception control, decryption processing of received image information, clearing sheet output control, etc., which is composed of a microprocessor, etc., and 14 is a usage charge calculation unit, which uses the usage charge according to instructions from the main control unit 13. Numeral 15 is a bar code generator for calculation, which converts the calculated usage fee into a bar code and gives the bar code pattern to the recording unit 3.

This facsimile is constructed so that copying can be performed in addition to transmission and reception.

Further, the charge table of the memory 11 stores a communication basic charge p, a basic fee q, and a usage charge r per sheet of recording paper according to the communication distance with the transmission destination.

In the facsimile of this embodiment, in the case of facsimile transmission, the telephone key of the operation panel 10 is pressed, the telephone number of the destination is input with the ten-key or the speed dial key, and the destination is controlled by the main control unit 13 and the line control unit 12. Call, operation panel 10
The original set in the reading unit 1 is read by pressing the transmission key of, the image signal read by the main control unit 13 is encoded and transmitted from the line control unit 12, and the destination telephone number, communication time t, and the number of communication sheets are transmitted. Remember n.

In the case of facsimile reception, automatic reception is performed from the line control unit 12, the encoded image signal received from the main control unit 13 is stored in the memory 11, and storage reception is performed. The encoded image signal is the main control unit 136
It is assumed that the decoded image information is output to the recording unit 3, received and output, and the received number m is stored.

Further, in the case of copying, the original set in the reading unit 1 is read by a copy instruction and a copy number instruction on the operation panel 10.
It is converted to image information, input to the main control unit 13, and temporarily stored in the memory.
It is assumed that the image information stored in the memory 11 is output to the recording unit 3 for the number of copies instructed by the main control unit 10, the number of copies is output for the number of copies instructed, and the number of copies m is stored.

FIG. 3 is a processing flow chart of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of recording output of one embodiment of the present invention.

The operator accepts the service and inputs an instruction for transmission, reception (recording), copying, a destination telephone number, and the number of copies from the operation panel 10.

As a result, as described above, any one of the transmission operation, the reception operation, and the copying operation is executed according to the instruction.

The main control unit 13 determines whether the instructed service has ended, and if so, determines whether it has ended normally.

 If it has not ended normally, it ends.

 When it ends normally, calculate the usage charge.

If it is a transmission service, the main control unit 13 instructs the usage fee calculation unit 14 to use the transmission service usage fee. At the same time, the basic communication charge p and the basic charge q corresponding to the other party's telephone number (communication distance) are read from the charge table of the memory 11, and this and the communication time t are given to the usage charge calculation unit 14.

The usage charge calculation unit 14 calculates the transmission usage charge SC according to the following formula.

SC = (p + q) × t (1) If the service is a reception service or a copying service, the usage fee r per sheet, the number of sheets received or copied, and the reception or copying service fee are calculated from the fee table of the memory 11. The command is given to the usage charge calculation unit 14, and the usage charge calculation unit 14 calculates the reception or copying usage charge RC by the following formula.

RC = r × m (2) The calculated usage charges SC and RC are given to the main controller 13 and the bar code generator 15.

The bar code generator 15 converts the given usage charge into a bar code pattern.

The main control unit 13 produces print data according to the settlement statement pattern shown in FIG. 4 and outputs the printing pattern (image information) to the recording unit 3 in order to record and output the settlement statement to the recording unit 3.

That is, the main control unit 13 extracts the use date and time from its own built-in clock, and then the use time t of the memory 11 and the number n
Alternatively, m, the telephone number of the other party (not copy) and the calculated usage charge are used as print data, edited in the format of FIG. 4, converted into a print pattern (image information), and output.

Subsequent to this output, the main controller 13 outputs the barcode generator 15
To output a bar code pattern to the (bar code image information) recording unit 3.

As a result, the recording unit 3, as shown in FIG.
Time, usage time, number of usage, destination telephone number, usage fee are recorded in characters, and the payment statement in which the usage fee is recorded in barcode (BR) is recorded and output.

Therefore, the usage fee is automatically calculated, and the usage details including the usage fee are recorded and output as a settlement statement.

Therefore, it is possible to save the labor of manually calculating the usage fee and to make a correct calculation.

Moreover, since the usage fee is recorded as a bar code, the usage fee can be automatically read by the bar code reader of the register, and settlement can be performed easily and accurately.

Further, in this example, in the case of receiving a copy, the basic fee per sheet is determined and the number of sheets is used as a parameter, as shown in equation (2). This means that the communication fee is virtually the same as copying at the time of reception because it is the sender's burden, and for the sake of simplicity of calculation, the same charge calculation method as the conventional copy service has been adopted. There is.

On the other hand, in the case of transmission, the communication charge, that is, px of Equation (1)
To t, a basic charge q proportional to the communication distance and a communication time t are added. That is, the fee uses the communication distance and the communication time as parameters, and uses the same idea as the calculation of the communication charge.

(B) Description of Other Embodiments In addition to the embodiments described above, various modifications can be considered in the present invention.

First, in the above-described embodiment, the operation of the facsimile communication is direct communication without passing through the memory 11. However, the read image information may be stored in the memory 11 and then transmitted. In this case, the memory 11 is used. The other party may be called after being stored in. In addition, for the reception, a method of receiving on behalf of the memory is adopted, and when the recipient arrives at the store, it is recorded and output to prevent others from seeing the contents of the facsimile, but it may be recorded and output at the time of reception. . Further, it may be a facsimile having no copying function, in which case the copying service cannot be accepted by the facsimile.

Secondly, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the facsimile installation store accepts all of the transmission, reception, and copying services, but the store side may only accept the transmission service or the transmission service and the copying service. Well, in this case, the settlement statement is not output in the case of unacceptable reception.

Thirdly, what is recorded and output is the settlement statement,
It may be used as a usage statement or a receipt, and when it is given to the customer, two copies of the same may be output and a part may be reserved as a copy of the usage on the store side. Also, in the case of copying and receiving services, the calculation of the usage fee is relatively easy, so it is possible to perform calculations and input to the register by a human like a normal copying service without outputting the payment statement. Good.

Fourthly, the calculation method of the transmission service usage fee is the communication fee and the fee, and the fee is the communication distance and the communication time as parameters. However, the fee may be determined in consideration of the amortization and profit of the facsimile, for example, per one sheet. The fee of
The number of transmitted sheets may be used as a parameter, and different charge calculation methods may be adopted for copying and receiving.

Fifth, although the clearing sheet RP recorded and output by the recording unit 3 is formatted as shown in FIG. 4, other formats may be used, and a bar code is used as a machine-readable format. Optical Character Reader) The usage fee may be recorded in characters.

Sixth, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the usage charge calculator 14 and the bar code generator 15 are separately provided, but this may be achieved by the microcomputer of the main controller 13 executing a program.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments, the present invention can be variously modified according to the gist of the present invention, and these modifications are not excluded from the present invention.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since the collection (use) fee of the facsimile service is automatically calculated, it is possible to save the calculation labor and to perform accurate calculation, and in addition, it is machine-readable. Since it is recorded and output in various formats, the input to the register can be made easy and accurate, and the settlement can be facilitated.

Therefore, when faxing at a store, etc.,
Even if a system in which a facsimile and a register are connected to each other is not constructed for the purpose of collecting a fee, simply introducing the facsimile enables clearing using the existing register, which contributes to the spread of the facsimile service.

[Brief description of drawings]

 FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of the principle of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a processing flow chart of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. In the figure, 1 ... reading unit, 2 ... control unit, 3 ... recording unit.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A reading unit (1) for reading a document and inputting image information, a control unit (2) for transmitting and receiving image information, and a recording unit (3) for outputting image information. In a facsimile having a facsimile service, the control unit (2) calculates a usage fee after the end of the facsimile service and records the usage fee in a machine-readable format on the recording unit (3). Facsimile usage fee output method characterized by output.