JP2755859B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus for transmitting various information required for maintenance and management of electronic equipment such as a facsimile apparatus and a copying machine installed in an office or the like using a general public line. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, facsimile apparatuses capable of forming an image on plain paper by using a copying process have become widespread, and a mechanism using such a copying process has a high rate of occurrence of troubles. From the necessity of regular overhaul to maintain performance, it is desirable to enhance the maintenance and management service system. In particular, prompt and accurate measures are required so that recovery from troubles can be made early. ing.

As a conventional maintenance management method, in general, the facsimile machine itself detects its own state, and displays on a display or the like, the contents of the trouble or the imminent replacement of a specific part, or the use of consumables. If a near-empty display (display indicating that consumables are almost exhausted) is given to the user and the user recognizes the fact and determines that it is necessary to call a so-called service person, the facsimile is concerned. It is customary to contact a maintenance service bureau, which is in charge of the maintenance of the device, by telephone or other means.

[0004] However, such contact by telephone or the like causes the following problems.

[0005] (1) The user cannot perform his / her own work to explain the contents of the trouble, and is forced to lose time.

(2) The user may erroneously recognize the contents of the trouble display and inform the maintenance service bureau of contents different from the actual trouble contents.

(3) Even if there is a trouble display on the display, the user may be left unnoticed without notice.
In such a case, the minor trouble may progress to a severe trouble.

(4) The maintenance service bureau prepares necessary parts based on the contents of the trouble after receiving the communication from the user and goes to the user.
Quick response is not possible.

Therefore, in recent years, a facsimile machine on the user side detects its own operation state, converts the detected contents into communication information, and transmits the communication information automatically or in response to a transmission request from a maintenance service station. A method has been proposed in which a station receives transmitted communication information, converts the received communication information into, for example, character information, and prints out the information, thereby recognizing the operation state of the facsimile apparatus on the user side and performing maintenance management ( Japanese Patent Application No. 1-302749).

When implementing the above-mentioned maintenance management method,
First, it is necessary for a user to install a facsimile apparatus having the above-described operation state transmission function. Thereafter, a so-called service person goes to the office of the user who intends to make a contract and consults with the user about the contents of the contract for maintenance management of the facsimile machine. When the contract is signed,
A service person sets opening information for activating the function in the facsimile apparatus having the above-mentioned automatic transmission function of the operation state.

The establishment information includes what kind of maintenance function is to be selected, that is, what kind of information is to be transmitted to the maintenance service bureau, and information on the facsimile machine to be contracted, for example, model name, contractor And the contract number, and the telephone number of the maintenance service bureau to which the information is transmitted.

[0012]

In the facsimile apparatus described above, only the information on the operation state of the apparatus detected based on the function selected and set by the opening information is automatically transmitted to the maintenance service station. For this reason, if a problem occurs that is not automatically sent to the maintenance service bureau or a problem that is not covered by the maintenance management service, it is necessary for the operator to contact the maintenance service bureau by telephone or other means as in the past. Yes, the above-mentioned problem occurs.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a management device
An object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile apparatus that can manually transmit information on an operation state.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a facsimile communication means for transmitting / receiving image data via a public line, a telephone for transmitting / receiving a voice signal via a public line,
Switching means for connecting a public line to one of the facsimile communication means and the telephone, recording means for recording image data on recording paper, reading means for optically reading a document and converting it into image data, An operation state detecting means for detecting an operation state of the facsimile communication means, the recording means and the reading means, and an operation state for transmitting information about the detected operation state to a management device for managing the operation state via a public line. A facsimile apparatus for transmitting, to the management apparatus, information on an operation state automatically detected when an operation state is detected, information input means for inputting information to be transmitted to the management apparatus; Input information transmitting means for transmitting information input by the input means to the management device, and management by the input information transmitting means After information transmission to the location, in response to the switching signal from the management apparatus, a facsimile apparatus which comprises a control means for connecting the public line to the phone forcibly switches the switching means.

[0015]

According to the present invention, when information to be transmitted is input by the information input means, the information is transmitted to the management device by the input information transmitting means. That is, information that is not detected by the operation state detection unit or information that is not automatically transmitted can be transmitted to the management device. When a switching signal is received from the management device after information is transmitted to the management device, the switching device is forcibly switched by the control device, and the public line is connected to the telephone. Therefore, for example, when information relating to a failure that has occurred in the facsimile apparatus is input by the information input unit, a so-called answer call, which is a telephone call from the management apparatus side to the facsimile apparatus side for confirming the failure, is performed. Even in such a case, since the public line is forcibly connected to the telephone after the information is transmitted to the management device, even if the public line is connected to the facsimile communication means by the switching means, for example, the answer is normally transmitted. A call is made.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a facsimile apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The facsimile device 1 is connected to the telephone line 2 and transmits and receives image data to and from another facsimile device.
Various information can be transmitted / received to / from a management device 3 described later via the telephone line 2. Facsimile machine 1
Executes an electrostatic copying process of forming a charged image and recording (transferring) it on recording paper.

The facsimile apparatus 1 includes a control unit 11 realized by a microcomputer or the like. The control unit 11 includes a communication control unit 12, a reading unit 13, a recording unit 14,
Operation unit 15, display unit 16, detection unit 17, memory 1
8 is connected. The communication control unit 12 includes an incoming call detection circuit, a modem, and the like, demodulates received image data and provides the demodulated image data to the control unit 11, and modulates image data to be transmitted to output to the telephone line 2. The reading unit 13 includes a CCD described later.
(Charge-coupled device), a lens, an exposure device, and the like. When a document is transmitted, the document is optically read, converted into an electric signal (image data), and provided to the control unit 11. When copying a document, the document is exposed to form a document image on the surface of a photoconductor provided in a recording unit 14 described later.

The recording section 14 includes a photoreceptor, a developing device, a charger, a fixing device, and the like, and transfers an image to recording paper by the above-described electrostatic copying process.

The operation unit 15 includes a numeric key and various function setting keys, which will be described later. The display unit 16 is realized by a liquid crystal display device or the like, and displays input data from the operation unit 15, an operation state of the facsimile machine 1, such as error information and information indicating that the consumables are out of supplies.

The detecting unit 17 detects an operation state of the facsimile machine 1, specifically, an abnormal state, and gives information on the detected operation state to the control unit 11. In the control unit 11,
A trouble content discriminating unit, a trouble type discriminating unit, and a communication information converting unit (not shown) are provided, and these units operate under the control of the detecting unit 17.

The trouble content discriminating means discriminates what kind of trouble has occurred based on the information detected by the detecting unit 17. The trouble type determining means determines whether the trouble determined by the trouble content determining means is of a type requiring a so-called serviceman call. The type of trouble that does not require a serviceman call is a trouble that can be relatively easily handled by the user himself, such as a paper jam or running out of recording paper. The type of trouble that requires a serviceman call is a trouble that cannot be dealt with by the user himself, such as, for example, the life of the photosensitive member of the recording unit 14 being exceeded.

The memory 18 includes a ROM (read only memory) and a RAM (random access memory). The ROM stores programs for controlling various operations of the facsimile machine 1, and the RAM stores management programs. A registration area of the opening information transmitted from the device 3 and a work area used for the processing operation by the control unit 11 are set. Further, information transmitted to the management device 3 by the operation unit 15 is stored in the memory 18.

The telephone circuit 19 is configured to include a handset 20 and is connected to the communication control unit 12 to realize a telephone call with the management device 3 and other telephones.

The management device 3 is a device having a so-called personal computer as a basic configuration, and transmits and receives data to and from the facsimile device 1 and other terminal devices via the telephone line 2. The management device 3 includes a control unit 31 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 31 is connected to a modem 32, a recording unit 33, a display unit 34, and an operation unit 35.

The modem 32 demodulates the received data and supplies the demodulated data to the control unit 31. The modem 32 modulates the data to be transmitted supplied from the control unit 31 and outputs the modulated data to the telephone line 2. Recorder 3
Reference numeral 3 is realized by a thermal printer or the like, and records image data and various kinds of reception information received via the telephone line 2 or information input from the operation unit 35 on recording paper such as thermal recording paper. The display unit 34 includes a liquid crystal display device or a CRT.
(Cathode ray tube) or the like, and displays various information received via the telephone line 2 and information input from the operation unit 35. The operation unit 35 includes a plurality of key switches, such as a numeric key, and various function setting keys for designating an operation state of the management device 3.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the operation unit 15 described above. The operation unit 15 includes a numeric key 15a for inputting a telephone number of the other party at the time of calling, a start / copy key 15b for starting transmission of image data or printing a communication result table by the recording unit 14, and an image. A stop key 15c for stopping data transmission, and a mode for selecting various functions, for example, receiving image data (hereinafter referred to as FAX)
Mode) and a mode switching key 15d for selecting a mode for receiving an audio signal (hereinafter referred to as a telephone mode). In the present embodiment, of the various information transmitted to the management apparatus 3, information other than the information on the operation state detected by the detection unit 17, that is, information on troubles other than the maintenance service based on the set opening information. Information can be arbitrarily transmitted, for example, when the operator presses the “*” key of the mode switching key 15d and the numeric key 15a.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the facsimile machine 1. The facsimile apparatus 1 generally includes a reading unit 1
3; a recording unit 14; When the document 41 is inserted into the document insertion slot 42, the document 4 is detected by a document detection sensor 43 implemented by a microswitch or the like.
It is detected that 1 has been set. Thereafter, when the operator operates the copy key (not shown) or the start / copy key 15b described above to start transmission of image data, the transport operation of the document 41 is started.

At the time of document transmission, the document 41
And the pressing member 45, and is conveyed by a pair of conveying rollers 46 to an exposure area where the transparent glass 47 is installed. Light from a light source 48 is applied to the original surface of the original 41 in the exposure area, and the reflected light is incident on the CCD 51 via a mirror 49 and a lens 50. The incident light is converted into an electric signal (image data) by the CCD 51 and supplied to the control unit 11. The exposed document 41 is conveyed by a pair of discharge rollers 52 and discharged onto a document tray 53.

An exposure head 54 is arranged below the mirror 49 in FIG. 3, and when copying the original 41, an electrostatic copying process is executed together with the above-described original transport operation. The original image exposed by the exposure head 54 is
And an image is formed on the photosensitive drum 58 via the mirrors 56 and 57.

The photosensitive drum 58 is rotated in the direction of arrow 59. The surface of the photosensitive drum 58 is uniformly charged by the corona charger 60. Next, the exposure head 54 irradiates light to a portion other than the original image, removes the charged charge of the irradiated portion, and forms an electrostatic latent image with the charge remaining on the original image portion. In the developing unit 61, a toner, which is a colored fine particle charged in a polarity opposite to that of the electrostatic latent image, is supplied from a toner cartridge 62 and adheres to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image.
Next, a recording paper is superimposed on this toner image, and a charge having a polarity opposite to the charged polarity of the toner is applied to the recording paper by a transfer unit 63 from the surface of the recording paper opposite to the photosensitive drum 58, and the toner image is electrostatically applied. Is transferred to recording paper.

The recording paper is stored in a recording paper cassette 64, is conveyed to a conveyance path by a paper feeding roller (not shown), and is supplied by a paper feeding roller 65 to a transfer area where the transfer device 63 is arranged.

The toner image transferred onto the recording paper is fixed on the recording paper by applying heat or pressure by a fixing device 66. On the other hand, the latent image charge on the photosensitive drum 58 after the transfer is eliminated by the neutralizer 70. Further, residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 58 without being transferred is
It is removed by a cleaner not shown. By repeating a series of processes from the charging to the cleaning, the original image is continuously copied onto the recording paper.

The recording paper on which the toner image has been fixed is conveyed by a paper discharge roller 67 and discharged to a paper discharge tray 68.

In the vicinity of the exposure head 54, the exposure head 5
A cooling fan 69 for cooling the heat of No. 4 is arranged.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the facsimile machine 1 when transmitting information. When an operation state (abnormal state) is detected by the detection unit 17 in step a1, in step a2, the control unit 11 determines whether the detected abnormal state needs to be automatically transmitted. If it is determined in step a2 that the detected abnormal state is not included in the maintenance service based on the set opening information, in step a3,
It is determined whether the key input operation for information transmission of the operation unit 15 is performed. If a key input operation for information transmission has been performed, a calling operation is performed to the management device 3 in step a4, and information such as a signal indicating the trouble is transmitted in step a5. In step a3,
If no key input operation has been performed, the operation ends.

In step a2, for example, the maintenance service is based on the opening information in which the detected abnormal state is set.
For example, in the case of a trouble such as the end of the life of the photosensitive drum 58, a calling operation is performed to the management device 3 in step a8, and the abnormal state detected in step a9, that is, the photosensitive drum 58 needs to be replaced. Is transmitted, and the operation is terminated.

At step a6, it is determined whether or not the recording unit 14 is usable. If it can be used, in step a7, the information transmitted in step a5 is printed on a recording sheet and the operation is terminated. If it cannot be used, for example, the abnormal state detected in step a1 is notified to the recording unit 1
For example, when the information is related to No. 4, the information transmitted in step a10 is stored in the memory 18. Step a11
Then, the stored information is displayed and output on the display unit 16, and the operation ends.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation after the transmission of the information described above. The management device 3
Is not limited to the information transmitted by the above-described key input operation, but also includes information on the operation state detected by the detection unit 17.

When the transmission of information from the facsimile machine 1 to the management device 3 is completed in step b1, in step b2, the control unit 11 controls the various functions of the facsimile device 1 except for the control unit 11 and the communication control unit 12. , The facsimile function is stopped. As a result, for example, a key input operation from the operation unit 15 by the operator becomes impossible. Note that even after the function is stopped, the line 2
, An image data signal, a voice signal from another telephone (not shown), a control signal such as a release signal from the management device 3 and the like are received by the communication control unit 12, and signals other than the image data signal are received. The operation is performed based on the signal thus obtained.

When a signal arrives at step b3, it is determined at step b4 whether the signal is a signal transmitted from the management device 3. If the signal is transmitted from the management device 3, it is further determined in step b5 whether the signal is a voice signal for requesting a call.
If it is not an audio signal, in step b6, the control section 11 determines that the received signal is a release signal that is a control signal for releasing the function stop, and releases the stop function in step b2. In step b7, information indicating that the above-described cancellation signal has been received is stored as data in the memory 18
In step b8, based on the stored data, the recording unit 14 prints out a so-called release result table.

If it is determined in step b4 that the incoming signal is not from the management device 3, the process proceeds to step b9, where it is determined whether the received signal is a voice signal. If it is not a voice signal, the process returns to step b2. If it is a voice signal, it is determined in step b10 whether the telephone function is valid. In the present embodiment, the function to be stopped in step b2 is related to the facsimile function. For example, since the function to be stopped can be selected by the mode switch 15d, it is determined whether the telephone function is valid. Is performed in step b2.

If the telephone function is valid in step b10, a ringing tone is sent out in step b11, a call is made in step b12, and after the call, the process returns to step b2 again.

If the telephone function is stopped in step b10, the line is disconnected in step b13, and the process returns to step b2. If it is not a voice signal in step b5, it is determined in step b14 whether the telephone function is valid. When the telephone function is valid, the process proceeds to step b15. Even when the telephone function is stopped, the switching signal for restoring the telephone function from the management device 3 described later is received, thereby performing step b15. In step b17, the telephone function is restored, and in step b1
Proceed to 5 to send out a ringing tone and make a call. in this way,
If the incoming signal is a voice signal from the management device 3, regardless of whether the telephone function is enabled or disabled, the control signal from the management device 3 is used to forcibly make a call possible. .

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the management device 3. FIG. 6 shows an operation performed in the management device 3 to restore the telephone function in step b17 in FIG. 5 described above.

When the reception of the information from the facsimile machine 1 is completed in step c1, a call is made to reply (answer call) to the facsimile machine 1 in step c2. At step c3, it is determined whether or not the facsimile machine 1 is selected for the facsimile mode by the mode switch 15d. In the FAX mode, a mode switching signal is transmitted in step c4,
The telephone mode is forcibly selected by the control unit 11 and a call is made with the facsimile machine 1. Step c3
When the telephone is not in the FAX mode, that is, in the telephone mode, the telephone conversation is performed without performing the process of step c4.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, even if the reading unit 13 fails and the failure is not in the operating state detected by the detecting unit 17, information on the failure is stored in the operating unit 15. Can be transmitted to the management device 3 by a key input operation by the user. At this time, since the facsimile function is stopped by the control unit 11 after the transmission of the information, it is possible to eliminate the occurrence of a new trouble. Further, when the facsimile apparatus 1 is disabled due to the above-described failure, the release signal received from the management apparatus 3 makes the apparatus usable again. Therefore, maintenance management such as so-called remote diagnosis and repair from the management device 3 can be efficiently performed.

In addition, the control unit 11 stores the information indicating that the release signal has been received from the management device 3 in the memory 18. For example, the control unit 11 prints out the information by the recording unit 14 to check the progress. It can be done easily.

Further, according to this embodiment, when the communication control unit 12 receives a control signal for switching the line from the management device 3 after transmitting the information, the control unit 11 forcibly sets the telephone line 2 to the telephone circuit. 19, the answer call can always be accurately performed even when the FAX mode is selected in advance by the mode changeover switch 15d.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the operating state is not detected by the operating state detecting means,
Information on the operation state can be transmitted to the management device. As a result, even in the case where a trouble not covered by the maintenance management service occurs in, for example, a facsimile machine, information on the trouble can be transmitted to the management device. This eliminates the hassle of contacting the maintenance service bureau. Even when the public line is connected to the facsimile communication means, that is, even when the facsimile apparatus is set to the image data reception mode, the so-called answer call, which is a telephone call from the management apparatus, is normally performed. be able to. Therefore, for example, even if a failure occurs in the facsimile machine, it is possible to always accurately and accurately predict the failure by an answer call from the management device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a facsimile apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the operation unit 15. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of the facsimile machine 1;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the facsimile apparatus 1 when transmitting information.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the facsimile apparatus 1 after information transmission.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the management device 3.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 facsimile device 2 telephone line 3 management device 11 control unit 12 communication control unit 13 reading unit 14 recording unit 17 detecting unit 18 memory

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A facsimile communication means for transmitting / receiving image data via a public line, a telephone for transmitting / receiving a voice signal via a public line, and connecting a public line to one of the facsimile communication means and the telephone Switching means for performing image processing, recording means for recording image data on recording paper, reading means for optically reading a document and converting the image data into image data, and detecting at least operation states of the facsimile communication means, recording means and reading means Operating state detecting means; and operating state transmitting means for transmitting information on the detected operating state to a management device for managing the operating state via a public line, and automatically detecting the operating state when the operating state is detected. Inputting information to be transmitted to the management device in the facsimile device transmitting the information on the operation state detected to the management device Information input means, input information transmitting means for transmitting information input by the information input means to the management device, and responding to a switching signal from the management device after transmitting the information to the management device by the input information transmission means. And a control means for forcibly switching the switching means to connect a public line to a telephone.