JP2592616B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a facsimile having a processing function relating to a broadcast communication and a relay request communication, wherein a broadcast and a registration of a relay request are automatically identified. Or, it relates to a relay automatic identification facsimile.

Facsimile has become widespread and its functions have been advanced.
These functions include a broadcast function and a relay function. The relay function is used when the own device does not have a memory for storing transmission data, when requesting broadcast transmission to another device with memory, or when sending a document to multiple remote locations. Used for cost reduction.

With such advanced functions, the operation tends to be complicated, and it is desired to make the operation simple and easy to understand.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 6 shows an example of a network in facsimile communication, FIG. 7 shows an example of a conventional system, and FIG. 8 shows an example of conventional dial registration information.

In FIG. 6, A1 to A3 and B1 to B3 denote facsimile machines, respectively. In particular, A1 and B1 denote facsimile machines having a memory for storing data of transmitted or received originals, and other apparatuses have facsimile machines having no such memory. It is.

In the broadcast communication, the document data in the memory is individually transmitted from, for example, A1 to a plurality of other devices by one operation. When the relay function is used, for example, in order to reduce the transmission cost when sending the same original from A1 to B1, B2, and B3 in the remote B area, the data is temporarily sent to B1 and a relay request is made. Then, the data is transmitted from B1 to B2 and B3 in the same area.

Conventionally, when such a broadcast or relay request is registered, a method as shown in FIG. 7 (a) or (b) is used. In the case of the method shown in FIG. 7 (a), a broadcast key and a relay key are separately provided on the operation panel, and when the broadcast key is pressed, the process proceeds to the broadcast reservation processing, and the relay key is pressed. If so, the process proceeds to a relay request reservation process.

On the other hand, it is desired to reduce the number of keys on the operation panel as much as possible. In the method shown in FIG. 7 (b), the broadcast key and the relay key are provided as one broadcast / relay key. . In this method, when the broadcast / relay key is pressed, either a broadcast or a relay request is input and selected on the next screen. If the broadcast is selected, then the broadcast destination is registered, the original is read into the memory, and the process proceeds to the memory transmission. When the relay request is selected, after the registration of the relay station is performed, the registration of the transmission destination is performed, and the process shifts to transmission to the relay station.

Conventionally, when registering one-touch dialing or speed dialing, the dial number and control information for each destination are
For example, it is stored in a format as shown in FIG.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

According to the above-mentioned conventional method, the operator has to consciously select broadcast / relay each time, and there is a problem that the operation is complicated. simply,
It is convenient to be able to send easily and efficiently simply by thinking of sending to multiple destinations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problems, to improve operability when transmitting the same original content to a plurality of locations, and to enable efficient transmission.

[Means for solving the problem]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a dial storage unit capable of registering a destination telephone number and a relay station number corresponding to the telephone number at the time of speed dial registration or one-touch key registration, and broadcast transmission to a plurality of destinations. Instruction means for instructing, when receiving the broadcast transmission instruction, refer to the dial storage unit and, if a relay station is registered at the destination, make a call to the relay station number; And a call control means for calling the destination number when no relay station is registered.

FIG. 1 is a principle explanatory diagram for explaining an outline of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a facsimile, 11 denotes various operation keys on an operation panel, 12 denotes a broadcast / relay key, 13 denotes an operation input unit for inputting instruction data by key operation of the operation panel, 14
Is a dial number registration unit for registering one-touch dials, etc., 15 is a relay function presence / absence determination unit, 16 is a broadcast / relay selection unit, and 17 is a relay function that stores the presence / absence of relay function corresponding to dial numbers etc. Indicates the presence / absence storage unit.

In the present invention, the broadcast key and the relay key are not provided separately, but are prepared as one broadcast / relay key 12.
The name of this key does not need to be particularly limited to the “broadcast / relay” key, but may be, for example, a “multiple transmission registration” key.

In the relay function presence / absence storage unit 17, information on whether or not the destination has a relay function can be registered in advance corresponding to the dial number of the destination. This registration is performed from the operation keys 11 by the same operation as the registration of the speed dial or the one-touch dial. The area of the relay function presence / absence storage unit 17 may be shared with the area used for storing speed dials and one-touch dials, and the relay function presence / absence information may be a part of control information corresponding to the dial number.

When the broadcast / relay key 12 is pressed and several numbers have been input, the relay function presence / absence determining unit 15 is activated. The relay function presence / absence determining unit 15 refers to the relay function presence / absence storage unit 17 and performs a process of determining whether the destination or another destination related to the destination has the relay function.

The broadcast / relay selecting unit 16 selects either broadcast communication or relay request communication according to the result of the determination, depending on the presence or absence of a relay function.

As a result, the operator simply presses the broadcast / relay key 12, and the facsimile 10 automatically generates
Broadcasting or relay request communication is identified.

[Action]

According to the present invention, by registering a destination telephone number and a relay station number corresponding to the telephone number at the time of abbreviated dial registration or one-touch key registration, an operator can perform broadcast transmission to a plurality of locations. , Without the need to select between direct broadcast transmission and relay transmission,
Just instruct broadcast transmission to multiple destinations. If a relay station is registered at the destination in the dial storage unit, call the relay station number.If no relay station is registered, call the destination directly. Since the control of making a call to the number is executed, the operability in performing the broadcast transmission to a plurality of locations is significantly improved, and the communication fee can be significantly reduced.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of relay function presence / absence management information according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is an explanation of relay / broadcast selection according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 and FIG. 5 are explanatory views of the processing of one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 denotes a processor (MPU) that fetches and executes instructions, 21 denotes an operation control unit that analyzes and processes input data in response to key operations on an operation panel, and 22 denotes a broadcast file and a relay. A broadcast / relay file creation control unit for creating and managing files, a data file memory 23 for storing data obtained by reading and compressing originals, a program memory 24 for storing instructions executed by the processor 20, and a transmission / reception Communication control unit for controlling,
Reference numeral 26 denotes a system memory for storing various management information and operation control information.

The relay function presence storage unit 17 shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the relay function presence / absence management information in the relay function presence / absence storage unit 17 is handled together with management information such as a shortened or one-touch dial. , Dial number 30, sum value 31, number of digits 32, communication mode 33, communication speed 34,
It has information such as relay function presence information 35 and relay station number 36.

The sum value 31 is an added value for dial number data. The number of digits 32 indicates how many digits the dial number has. The communication mode 33 is information for specifying communication modes such as G3, G2, and MF. Communication speed 34 is 9600,7200,4800,2400 bits /
This is the second selection designation information. In this embodiment, a field of relay function presence / absence information 35 and a field of relay station number 36 are further provided.

The relay function presence / absence information 35 is, for example, a flag. When "1", the relay function is present, and when "0", the relay function is absent. The relay station number 36 is capable of arbitrarily grouping a plurality of facsimile units centering on a facsimile having a relay function for each adjacent district, and is a number assigned to identify the group.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, it is assumed that the facsimile machines A1, B1 to B3, C1 to C3, D1, and D2 can communicate with each other via the telephone network 40. Here, it is assumed that the facsimile machines A1, B1, and C1 are facsimile machines having a relay function, and other facsimile machines do not have a relay function.

Now, let us consider performing broadcast communication or relay request communication from the facsimile A1. In the facsimile A1, when registering the abbreviated / one-touch dial used for destination designation in advance, as shown in Fig. 4 (b), whether the device of the destination number has a relay function and what the relay station number is Register information on whether it is the turn. Here, B1 to B3 are the first
, C1 to C3 are registered as the second group. D1 and D2 do not belong to the group having the relay station.

In the facsimile A1, it is assumed that the operator presses a broadcast / relay key, for example, and then specifies all the numbers B1 to B3, C1 to C3, D1, and D2 as transmission destinations.

In facsimile A1, the original is read first, and B1
B1 which has a relay function for the first group of ~ B3
To the relay request. After receiving the original, B1 transfers the data to B2 and B3. The same applies to the second group, C1 to C3, where a relay request is made from A1 to C1, and sent from C1 to C2, C3.

Since D1 and D2 do not belong to the relay station, A1
Therefore, the broadcast communication is performed for D1 and D2, respectively.

FIG. 5 shows an example of processing according to an embodiment of the present invention for performing such control. The processing in the following description corresponds to the processing shown in FIG.

Processing First, the operator instructs broadcast / relay using the broadcast / relay key from the operation panel, and then performs a destination entry reservation process of inputting a telephone number, abbreviated dial key, etc., which are final destinations of the transmission.

Processing Then, the processor 20 of the source facsimile machine
Referring to the relay function presence / absence storage unit 17 as shown in FIG. 4 (b), it is determined whether or not the designated destination has an entry of the relay station according to each relay function presence / absence information. For the final destinations B1 to C3, the relay station is entered, and for D1 and D2, the relay station is not entered, but the state is determined for each transmission destination.

Processing If there is an entry for a relay station, it is further checked whether or not there is a destination within the same relay station, that is, another destination with the same relay station number. In this embodiment, since all of B1 to D1 are designated as transmission destinations, it is determined that there is a destination within B1 to C3 within the same relay station.

Processing When there is another destination in the relay station area, the relay request automatic reservation processing is performed for the group for each relay station number. As a result, the registration processing of relay transmission to the plurality of final destinations for the same relay station can be performed at one time. After the end of the automatic reservation processing of the relay request, the processing shifts to the processing.

Processing If there is no entry of a relay station at the final destination, it is checked whether or not a plurality of destinations are designated in another relay station by the relay station number. In the state shown in FIG. 4 (b), D1 and D2, for which no relay station entry has been made, are single terminals that do not belong to the group, so that the processing is negative and the processing shifts to another relay station. B in the tube
Since a plurality of destinations (B1 to B3) are specified for the group, the process makes a positive determination that there is a relay station having a plurality of destinations.

If it is determined in the process that there are a plurality of destinations in the relay station, the process proceeds to an automatic reservation process for a relay request. As a result, the relay request can be automatically reserved irrespective of the input order of the destination.

Processing When the automatic reservation processing of the relay request is completed, and when the processing and the processing are negative, the normal broadcast that does not go through the relay station for all destinations other than the destination of the processing relay request The reservation process is performed. The following processing is the same as the conventional processing. By such processing,
Since the broadcast and the relay request are automatically identified inside the facsimile, the operator can operate the broadcast / relay without being conscious of the broadcast / relay.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, by registering the destination telephone number and the relay station number corresponding to the telephone number in addition to the abbreviated dial registration or the one-touch dial registration, the operator can enter a plurality of locations. When performing a broadcast transmission, it is only necessary to instruct broadcast transmission to a plurality of destinations without directly selecting a normal / broadcast transmission or a relay transmission. When a relay station is registered, a call is made to that relay station number, and when a relay station is not registered, a call is made directly to its destination number. In this case, the operability when performing is significantly improved, and the communication charge can be significantly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an example of an apparatus configuration according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining relay function presence / absence management information according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of relay / broadcast selection according to one embodiment, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of processing of one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is an example of a network in facsimile communication, FIG. 7 is an example of a conventional system, FIG. Shows an example of conventional dial registration information. In the figure, 10 is a facsimile, 11 is an operation key, 12 is a broadcast / relay key, 13 is an operation input unit, 14 is a dial number registration unit, 15 is a relay function presence / absence determination unit, 16 is a broadcast / relay selection unit, Reference numeral 17 denotes a relay function presence / absence storage unit.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A dial storage unit capable of registering a destination telephone number and a relay station number corresponding to the telephone number at the time of speed dial registration or one-touch dial registration, and instructing means for instructing broadcast transmission to a plurality of destinations. If the broadcast transmission instruction is received, the dial storage unit is referred to, and if a relay station is registered at the destination, a call is made to the relay station number, and the relay station is registered at the destination. A facsimile apparatus comprising: a calling control unit for calling the destination number when the call is not made.