JP2648748B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a facsimile machine.

2. Description of the Related Art A facsimile apparatus that displays the number of untransmitted data on a transceiver is proposed. In this device, the approximate communication end time can be estimated based on the number of untransmitted data.

However, when the transmission mode, the document size, the transmission speed, the minimum transmission time, and the like are different, the time for transmitting one page is different, and the total required time for the number of untransmitted sheets is also different. Therefore, there is a problem that the operator cannot correctly recognize the time at which the current communication is completed.

If the current communication is to be completed soon (for example, about one minute), the operator may temporarily give up facsimile communication and return to his or her seat. In addition, if the communication currently being performed lasts for a long time (for example, about 20 minutes), the operator has to wait for the end of the communication, so that the useless time increases. Therefore, when sending and receiving,
It is difficult for operators to use time effectively.

[Object of the Invention] According to the present invention, when the communication speed of image data changes between pages due to fallback or the like and the communication completion time is extended, the displayed communication completion time can be accurately corrected, and the displayed communication completion time can be corrected. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus which can solve the problem that the actual communication completion time does not match with the actual communication completion time. Calculating means for calculating the time required for completing image communication based on the amount and the communication speed; display means for displaying the time required for completing image communication calculated by the calculating means; and an image communicated by the communication means The communication speed used to calculate the time displayed on the display means between data pages changes to a new communication speed. Detecting means for detecting that the communication has been completed and a new communication speed, and updating the time required for the completion of the image communication with the progress of the image data communication and displaying the updated time on the display means. Control for causing the calculating means to newly calculate the time required for the completion of the image communication after the detection by the detecting means, and for correcting and displaying the newly calculated time required for the completion of the image communication on the display means based on the optimum communication speed. And a facsimile apparatus characterized by comprising means.

[Embodiment of the invention] In the present invention, the transmitter side performs memory transmission,
The receiver performs normal real-time reception without performing memory reception.

The transmitter first encodes the document information, stores it in a memory, and stores the size of the document. Then, in the case of actual transmission, it is adjusted to the capacity of the receiver. In general, when encoding information, encoding with the highest compression degree is performed.

In the embodiment of the present invention, A4, B
4, A3, G2, G3 and standard, fine mode as transmission mode, MH, MR (G3 only) as encoding, 2400b / s, 4800b / s, 7200b / s, 9600b / s as transmission speed
(G3 only), 0msec, 10msec, 20mse as minimum transmission time
Consider c (G3 only).

When the information of the document is encoded and stored in the memory, the number of documents is counted. When facsimile transmission is started, a transmission mode, a document size when information is actually transmitted, a transmission speed, a minimum transmission time, and the like are determined in a pre-procedure. The required time is known when a one-page standard document is transmitted under the above conditions. The transmission time is obtained by multiplying the number of sheets to be transmitted by this time.

By displaying the transmission time on the display unit, the operator can recognize how long the current transmission is to be completed. In this case, if the transmission time is added to the current time and displayed, the operator can recognize the time at which the current transmission ends.

When the transmission of one page is completed and the transmission of the next page is to be performed, the transmission mode, document size, transmission speed, minimum transmission time, etc. for actually transmitting the information are checked again, and the conditions are checked. The time required for transmitting a one-page standard manuscript is examined. At this time, the time obtained by multiplying the remaining number is reset. In this way, the time required for transmitting one page of a standard document under predetermined conditions is absorbed by the error required for transmitting the one-page document (the error is accumulated). Will not be done).

When the transmission speed changes due to fallback or the like, or when the transmission mode (standard, fine mode, etc.) changes, the subsequent transmission time can be correctly displayed to the operator.

On the other hand, the receiver recognizes the number of originals to be transmitted by the previous procedure. Similarly to the transmitter, the receiver checks the time when one page of the standard original is transmitted on the page according to the conditions to be transmitted at present, and at this time,
Multiply the number of untransmitted originals. By displaying this time, the operator on the receiver side can recognize how much of the current transmission is to be completed.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, an NCU (network control unit) 2 connects to a terminal of a telephone line 2a to control connection of a telephone exchange network and uses a data communication path to use a telephone network for data communication and the like. This is a device that performs switching to and that holds a loop. The NCU 2 connects the telephone line 2a to the telephone 4 when a switching signal from the control circuit 44, which will be described later, is "0", and connects the telephone line 2a when the switching signal is "1".
Is connected to the facsimile apparatus side, and the telephone line 2a is normally connected to the telephone set 4 side.

A hybrid circuit 6 for separating a transmission system signal and a reception system signal, a circuit 8 for transmitting various tonal signals,
A modulator 10 for performing modulation based on the known CCITT recommendation V21 is provided. The tonal signal transmission circuit 8 is 462H
Output signals of z, 1080Hz, 1650Hz, 1850Hz, 2100Hz. When the control signal from the control circuit 44 is "1", the above-mentioned various tonal signals are output.

The reading circuit 12 sequentially reads image signals for one line in the main scanning direction from a transmission original and creates a signal sequence representing black and white binary values. The reading circuit 12 includes an image sensor such as a CCD (charge coupled device) and an optical system. It is composed of The AM-PM-VSB modulator 14 is a circuit that performs AM-PM-VSB modulation on a signal to which a synchronization signal is added.

The encoding circuit 16 is a circuit that encodes the binarized data, and is a circuit that outputs encoded (MH (Modified Huffman) encoding or MR (Modified Read) encoding) data.

Further, a memory circuit 18, a modulator 20 for performing modulation based on CCITT recommendation V27ter (differential phase modulation) or V29 (quadrature modulation), and an adder circuit 22 are provided. Modulator 20
Is an encoding circuit based on a control signal from the control circuit 44.
It modulates either the output signal of 16 or the output signal of the memory circuit 18.

The tonal signal detection circuit 24 is a circuit that detects a tonal signal included in the received signal, and is 462 Hz, 1080 Hz, 1
When the 650 Hz, 1850 Hz, and 2100 Hz tonal signals are detected, "1", "2", "3", and "4" are output to the control circuit 44, respectively. When none of the tonal signals is detected, a signal of "5" is sent to the control circuit 44.

In addition, a demodulator 26 that performs demodulation based on CCITT recommendation V21, a demodulator 28 that performs AM-PM-VSB demodulation, and a demodulator 30 that performs demodulation based on CCITT recommendation V27ter or V29
A decoding circuit 32 for performing MH decoding or MR decoding,
A memory circuit 34, a recording circuit 36, and an operation unit 38
And a remaining transmission time display circuit 40 and a standard transmission time table 42.

The recording circuit 36 inputs a signal from the memory circuit 34, a signal from the decoding circuit 32, and a signal from the demodulator 28 based on a control signal from the control circuit 44, and outputs a monochrome signal for each line. They are recorded sequentially.

The operation unit 38 includes alphabet keys A to Z,
It has numeric keys 0 to 9, * symbol, # symbol, start key, function key, memory key and the like. The remaining transmission time display circuit 40 is a circuit for inputting the remaining transmission time indicating how long the current communication is to be completed and displaying this time.

The standard transmission time table 42 stores the document size (A4, B4, A
3), transmission mode (G2, G3, standard mode, fine mode), coding (MH, MR), transmission speed (2400, 4800,
7200, 9600 b / s) and minimum transmission time (0, 10, 20 msec)
Based on the above information, the time required to transmit one standard document page is determined and output.

2 (1) to 2 (8) are tables showing the time required to transmit one page of a standard document.

However, the content shown in FIG. 2 is an example and is not limited to that time. In FIG. 2A, the fine mode is used instead of the standard mode, the document size B4 or A3 is used instead of A4, and the transmission speed is set to 96.
For each of the cases of 00b / s, a standard transmission time table is set in the same manner as in FIG. 2 (1), and these are shown in FIGS. 2 (2) to (8).

 The function of the control circuit 44 is as described below.

First, a function when the control circuit 44 is used for a transmitter will be described.

When a storage mode for storing image information in the memory is selected, the transmitter encodes information of the document, stores the information in the memory, and counts the number of documents. Then, when transmitting the data stored in the memory, the information of the document is transmitted. At this time, the time required to transmit one standard document under the conditions determined in the previous procedure is stored in the standard transmission time table 42.
Enter from.

At the time of transmission in the G3 mode, a time obtained by adding the number of sheets to the time obtained by adding the procedure time (about 3 seconds) to the standard transmission time is displayed. At the time of transmission in the G2 mode, a time obtained by adding the number of sheets to the time obtained by adding the procedure time (about 21 seconds) to the standard transmission time (190 seconds) is displayed. This resetting of the time is performed every time one page is transmitted. As a result, the operator on the transmitter side can easily recognize the time required to transmit an untransmitted document.

Next, the function of the control circuit 44 in the receiver will be described.

When the receiver enters the reception mode, the receiver recognizes the number of documents currently transmitted by the previous procedure. The receiver also inputs, from the standard transmission time table 42, the time required to transmit one standard document under the conditions determined in the previous procedure, similarly to the transmitter. Then, a time obtained by multiplying the time obtained by adding the procedure time to the standard transmission time by the number of sheets is displayed. This resetting of the time is performed every time one page is transmitted. Thus, the operator on the receiver side can easily recognize the time required for transmitting the untransmitted original.

 Next, a specific operation of the above embodiment will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the control operation in the transmitter of the control circuit 44 shown in FIG.

First, in an initial state, the telephone line 2a is connected to the telephone 4 side.

0 hour 0 minute 0 second is output to the remaining transmission time display circuit 40, and 0 hour 0 minute 0 second is displayed as the remaining transmission time (S50). Then, it is determined whether or not the storage mode for storing the information in the memory is selected (the function key, the memory key, the W key, and the function key are pressed) (S52). When the storage mode is selected, the information is stored in the memory (S54). At this time, the number of documents is also counted.

On the other hand, when the storage mode is not selected (S52), it is determined whether the transmission mode from the memory is selected (the function key, the memory key, the R key, and the function key are pressed) (S56). When the transmission mode from the memory is not selected, the process returns to S50.

When the transmission mode from the memory is selected, pre-procedures such as connecting the telephone line 2a to the facsimile apparatus are performed (S58), and the transmission mode, the image transmission mode, the document size to be actually transmitted, and the document speed ( Check G3 only), encoding (G3 only), and minimum transmission time (G3 only).
Then, the number of sheets is multiplied by the transmission time required to transmit one page of the standard document under these conditions plus the procedure time, the remaining transmission time is recognized, and the time is displayed on the display circuit 40 ( S60). Thereafter, a post-procedure such as image transmission is performed (S62), and S58 to S62 are repeated until the last page (S6).
4) Perform post-procedures such as connecting the telephone line 2a to the telephone 4 (S66).

When returning from S64, if there is no mode change, the previous procedure (S58) is omitted, and if there is a mode change, the operation is repeated including the previous procedure (S58).

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a control operation in the receiver of the control circuit 44 shown in FIG.

As an initial state, the telephone line 2a is connected to the telephone 4 side.

Then, 0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds are output to the display circuit 40, and 0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds are displayed as the remaining transmission time (S70). When the reception mode is selected (S72), the telephone line 2a is connected to the facsimile machine side, and a pre-procedure is performed (S74), and the receiver receives a signal from, for example, NSS (non-standard function setting signal) from the transmitter. Recognize the number of originals to be transmitted.

Transmission mode, image transmission mode, document size to be actually transmitted, transmission speed (G3 only), encoding (G3 only),
Check the minimum transmission time (G3 only), multiply the time required to transmit one page of the standard manuscript under these conditions by the procedure time, multiply the number, and recognize the remaining transmission time. The information is displayed on the display circuit 40 (S76). Then, image transmission is performed (S78), and these operations are repeated until the last page (S80). Thereafter, a post-procedure such as connecting the telephone line 2a to the telephone 4 is performed (S82). Note that S80
If there is no mode change in the previous procedure (S74)
Is omitted and the above operation is repeated. If there is a mode change, the above operation including the previous procedure (S74) is repeated.

As mentioned above, the sending or receiving operator
When facsimile transmission is to be performed, if facsimile transmission has already been performed, it is possible to correctly recognize how long the current communication is to be completed. Therefore, if it is determined that the current communication is to be terminated immediately, it is effective for the operator to wait near the facsimile machine, while the operator determines from the display that the current communication is to be continued for a long time. It is effective to temporarily give up facsimile communication and perform other work. These determinations can be made appropriately.

The above embodiment calculates the time required to transmit one page of a standard document under the currently performed conditions, and multiplies the calculated time by the number of untransmitted sheets to calculate the total remaining time. I have. This operation (calculation) is performed by the transmitter and the receiver. However, the above operation may be performed only by the transmitter, and the transmitter may notify the receiver of the time to transmit an untransmitted original every time one page is transmitted.

Further, when transmitting a plurality of originals, the information amount of the originals is often similar for all of the plurality of originals. Therefore, the actual time required to transmit the first page of the original is multiplied by the remaining number of originals,
It may be assumed that this is the total time of the remaining transmission times.

If the transmitter does not have a memory, the number of pages to be transmitted is input on the transmitter side, and it is calculated based on the number of pages whether it is necessary to transmit an untransmitted original. You may do so.

Furthermore, if the transmitter can perform memory transmission, the amount of memory to be transmitted is determined from now on, and the time obtained by adding the time obtained by dividing the amount of memory by the transmission speed and the time obtained by multiplying the procedure time by the number of untransmitted data is obtained. May be displayed as the time required to transmit an untransmitted document.
In this case, it is necessary to perform the above calculation every time one page is transmitted, and to display a time required for transmitting an untransmitted original. In this case, the information notified from the transmitter to the receiver may be a memory amount or a time required for transmitting an untransmitted original. Preferably, the information is sent page by page.

In addition, instead of the transmission time,
The time until the reading or recording operation is completed may be displayed, the transmission time and the reading time may be displayed, or the transmission time and the recording time may be displayed.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, the communication speed used when calculating the time displayed on the display unit between pages of image data communicated by the communication unit changes to a new communication speed. And that the time required for completing the image communication is newly calculated by the calculating means based on the detected new communication speed, and the time required for completing the newly calculated image communication is displayed on the display means. When the display speed is corrected, if the communication speed of image data changes between pages due to fallback or the like and the communication completion time is extended, the displayed communication completion time can be accurately corrected, and the displayed communication completion time and actual communication This has the effect of eliminating the inconvenience that the completion time does not match.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2 (1) to 2 (8) are diagrams showing an example of a table for determining the time required to transmit one page of a standard document under predetermined transmission conditions in the above embodiment. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the control operation on the transmitter side of the control circuit 44 in the above embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control operation on the receiver side in the control circuit 44 in the above embodiment. 2 ... NCU, 4 ... Phone, 36 ... Recording circuit, 40 ... Remaining transmission time display circuit, 42 ... Standard transmission time table, 44 ... Control circuit.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] Communication means for communicating image data; based on the amount of image data to be communicated and the communication speed,
Calculating means for calculating the time required for completing the image communication; display means for displaying the time required for the completion of the image communication calculated by the calculating means; Detecting means for detecting that the communication speed used for calculating the time displayed on the display means has changed to the new communication speed and detecting the new communication speed; with the progress of the communication of the image data, The time required for the completion of the image communication is updated and displayed on the display means, and based on the new communication speed detected by the detection means, the time required for the completion of the image communication after detection by the detection means Is newly calculated by the calculation means, and the time required for completing the newly calculated image communication is corrected and displayed on the display means. That control means and; facsimile apparatus characterized by comprising a.