JP2989633B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to hooking of an external telephone to switch to an external telephone during facsimile transmission or reception, or to facsimile transmission or reception during external telephone conversation. More particularly, the present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus which enables reliable remote switching by utilizing hooking which is hardly affected by line noise, switching equipment and the like.

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an external telephone connected in parallel to the same line is added to a facsimile apparatus, and the main body of the facsimile apparatus and the external telephone are usually installed at locations separated from each other. .

Therefore, remote switching between facsimile communication for transmitting and receiving image information and voice communication (remote switching).
Is required.

Specifically, it is necessary to switch to an external telephone during facsimile transmission / reception, or to switch to facsimile transmission / reception during an external telephone call.

Conventionally, remote switching to an external telephone during transmission / reception of a facsimile or remote transmission / reception to transmission / reception of a facsimile during a telephone call by an external telephone has been performed by operating a dial or push button from the external telephone to generate a dial pulse or a push signal ( (DTMF signal) was executed.

However, in this method, the waveform of the dial pulse or the like is scraped by the influence of the line noise or the switching equipment.
There is a disadvantage that a reliable switching operation is not performed.

Further, conventionally, a remote switching system for switching a facsimile apparatus to a reception state by using hooking has been adopted.

However, in the conventional remote switching system using hooking, only the operation of switching to the reception state by the facsimile apparatus by transmitting the hook-off signal from the telephone side is possible, and remote control to the external telephone during facsimile transmission / reception is possible. There is a disadvantage that operability is low because switching cannot be performed.

According to the present invention, such a disadvantage in the conventional remote switching system of the facsimile apparatus, that is, in the system in which the dial pulse or the push signal is transmitted, it is ensured by the influence of the line noise and the exchange. Switching operation cannot be performed, and in the method using hooking, it is impossible to remotely switch to an external telephone during facsimile transmission / reception.
By monitoring the hooking time, which is hardly affected by line noise and switching equipment, remote switching to an external telephone during facsimile transmission / reception or remote switching to facsimile transmission / reception during a call is possible. The purpose is to improve the performance.

Means for Solving the Problems According to the present invention, first, in a facsimile apparatus connected in parallel with an external telephone, an off-hook detection circuit for detecting the presence or absence of a line connection and a hook state of the external telephone are detected. By comparing the hooking time of the external telephone with the hooking time of the external telephone and the first and second predetermined times, the external telephone is in the off-hook state or the external telephone is in the on-hook state. Or a hooking time judging means for judging whether or not the signal is a remote switching signal, and when it is judged by the hooking time judging means that the signal is a remote switching signal, to an external telephone if facsimile transmission or reception is in progress, Line switching means for switching during facsimile transmission / reception during a telephone call. Secondly, in the above facsimile apparatus, voice information storage means for storing a predetermined voice message, and when switching a line from a telephone call to a facsimile, the voice message to that effect is sent to the other party and then the facsimile is transmitted. Line switching means for switching to the side.

Embodiment Next, an embodiment of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing one embodiment of a main part configuration of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention. In the drawing, 1 is an off-hook detection circuit, 2 is an OH relay,
3 is a line transformer, 4 is an external telephone, 5 is a hook state detecting unit, 6 is a capacitor, 7 is an FCT detecting unit, 8 is a modem, 9 is an encoding / decoding unit, 10 is a communication control unit, 11 is a CPU, 1
2 is a RAM, 13 is a ROM, 14 is a first I / F circuit, 15 is an operation display unit, 16 is a scanner, 17 is a second I / F circuit, 18 is a plotter, and 19 is a third I / F. The circuit, 20 indicates a voice response ROM, 21 indicates a system bus, and L1 and L2 indicate external lines.

In the facsimile apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG.
The CPU 11 has a hooking time determining function for determining whether or not the hooking time of the external telephone is within a predetermined range, and a voice message when the line is switched from a telephone call to a facsimile. It has a line switching function of switching to the facsimile side after sending to the other party, and its program is stored in the ROM 13.

The function of each block of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is as follows.

The off-hook detection circuit 1 has a function of detecting the presence or absence of an off-hook state by detecting, for example, polarity reversal of the DC line of the line L2.

The OH relay 2 connects the external lines L1 and L2 to the primary side (the facsimile machine side) of the line transformer 3 or the external telephone 4
This is a relay circuit that switches to one of the two sides.

The line transformer 3 is a transformer for connecting the lines L1 and L2 to the modem 8 of the facsimile apparatus in a state where the lines L1 and L2 are cut off in terms of direct current.

The external telephone 4 is a telephone connected in parallel to the same line as the facsimile machine and installed at a position away from the main body of the facsimile machine.

The hook state detection unit 5 has a function of detecting the hook state of the external telephone 4.

The capacitor 6 is a capacitor for cutting off a DC component.

The FCT detection unit 7 has a function of detecting a facsimile calling signal (FCT).

The modem 8 is a modulator / demodulator that modulates or demodulates transmission information by a predetermined modulation method.

The encoding / decoding unit 9 has a function of encoding transmission information and transmitting / receiving the information to / from another terminal, and a function of decoding the transmitted encoded information.

The communication control unit 10 has a function of executing a predetermined transmission control procedure.

The CPU 11 is a control unit having a function of controlling the entire system of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG.

The RAM 12 is a memory that configures a work area of the CPU 11 and the like.

The ROM 13 is a memory that stores various information such as a control program executed by the CPU 11.

The first I / F circuit 14 is an interface circuit for connecting the communication control unit 10 and the CPU 11.

The operation display unit 15 includes various operation keys such as a numeric keypad for inputting destination information and a start key for starting transmission, input data from the numeric keypad, identification information of a communication partner, and information from the facsimile apparatus to the operator. A display for displaying messages and the like is provided.

The scanner 16 is an image input unit that converts an image of a transmission original into pixels and reads the image.

The second I / F circuit 17 is an interface circuit for connecting the scanner 16 and the CPU 11.

The plotter 18 is image recording means for recording received image information on recording paper.

The third I / F circuit 19 is an interface circuit for connecting the plotter 18 and the CPU 11.

The voice response ROM 20 is a memory for storing a message or the like for notifying the other party of the fact at the time of remote switching from the telephone to the facsimile.

In the facsimile apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG.
Remote switching from the facsimile to the telephone, and remote switching from the telephone to the facsimile,
It is executed by the following operation.

First, when switching to the external telephone 4 during transmission / reception of the facsimile apparatus, the hook state detector 5 detects whether or not the external telephone 4 is off-hook.

If hooking has been performed, the hooking time t detected by the hook state detecting section 5 is t <1.
(Sec), the off-hook state, 2 (sec) <t, the on-hook state, and 1 (sec) ≤ t ≤ 2 (sec), the CPU 11 determines that the signal is a remote switching signal. to decide.

When it is determined that the signal is a remote switching signal, the OH relay 2 is switched from the facsimile apparatus side to the external telephone 4 side, so that the external telephone 4 is set in a talking state.

Also, when switching to the facsimile apparatus side during the telephone call of the external telephone 4, if the hooking time t similarly detected by the hook state detection unit 5 is t <1 (sec), the communication state is maintained. The CPU 11 determines that the signal is an on-hook state when 2 (sec) <t and a remote switching signal when 1 (sec) ≦ t ≦ 2 (sec).

When it is determined that the signal is a remote switching signal, a message for switching from the external telephone 4 to the facsimile apparatus is read out from the voice response ROM 20 and transmitted to the other party. The facsimile is set in a state where transmission and reception can be started by switching to.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the main processing flow when the facsimile apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is remotely switched to a telephone during facsimile transmission / reception. In the drawing, # 1 to # 4 indicate steps.

First, in step # 1, it is determined whether or not the external telephone has been off-hook.

If it is in the on-hook state, the process proceeds to the next step # 2, and it is determined how long the hooking time t is.

In the determination of the hooking time t in step # 2, if the time is less than 1 second, the process returns to step # 2 again.
The hooking time t is determined.

If it is longer than one second and less than two seconds, the process proceeds to the next step # 3, and the facsimile is switched to the external telephone 4 side. To end.

On the other hand, when the hooking time t of Step # 2 is determined to be 2 seconds or longer, the previous Step # 1
When it is detected that the external telephone 4 is not off-hook, the flow of FIG. 2 ends.

Through the processing of steps # 1 to # 4, the processing of remote switching to the external telephone 4 during facsimile transmission / reception is executed.

Next, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the main processing flow when the facsimile apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is remotely switched to facsimile transmission / reception during an external telephone call. In the drawing, # 11 ~ # 14
Indicates a step.

In step # 11, it is determined how much the hooking time t is.

In the determination of the hooking time t in step # 11, if it is less than 1 second, the process returns to step # 11 again.
The hooking time t is determined.

If it is 1 second or more and 2 seconds or less, the process proceeds to the next step # 12, and a message to the effect that the telephone is switched to the facsimile side is sent to the other party.

Thereafter, in step # 13, the external telephone 4 is switched to the facsimile side, the process proceeds to the next step # 14, facsimile transmission / reception is started, and the flow of FIG. 3 is ended.

On the other hand, if the hooking time t is 2 seconds or more in the determination of the hooking time t in step # 11, the flow of FIG.

By the processing of the above steps # 11 to # 14, the processing of remote switching to facsimile transmission / reception during communication of the external telephone 4 is executed.

As described in detail above, in the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, switching to an external telephone during transmission / reception of a facsimile or transmission / reception of a facsimile during a telephone call of an external telephone is performed by monitoring the hooking time of the external telephone. It is configured to perform remote switching to.

Further, when switching to facsimile transmission / reception during a telephone call, a message to that effect is sent to the other party in advance and then switched to the facsimile side.

According to the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, switching to an external telephone during facsimile transmission / reception or remote switching to facsimile transmission / reception during a telephone call is performed by monitoring the hooking time. As described above, there is no possibility of being affected by line noise or an exchange, and remote switching can be reliably performed (the effect corresponding to claim 1).

Further, when switching to facsimile transmission / reception during a telephone call, a message to that effect is sent to the other party before the switching, so that the other party can respond sufficiently and the operability is further improved ( Many excellent effects such as the effect corresponding to claim 2) can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an embodiment of the main part of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a main processing flow at the time of remote switching to the facsimile apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. Flow chart showing the flow of main processing. In the drawing, 1 is an off-hook detection circuit, 2 is an OH relay, 3 is a line transformer, 4 is an external telephone, 5 is a hook state detector, 6 is a capacitor, 7 is an FCT detector, 8 is a modem, and 9 is encoding. Decoding unit, 10 is communication control unit, 11 is CP
U and 12 are RAM, 13 is ROM, 14 is a first I / F circuit, 15 is an operation display unit, 16 is a scanner, 17 is a second I / F circuit, 18 is a plotter, and 19 is a third I / F circuit. / F circuit, 20 is voice response ROM.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) H04M 11/00-11/10 H04N 1/00 H04N 1/32

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A facsimile apparatus connected in parallel with an external telephone, an off-hook detection circuit for detecting the presence or absence of a line connection, a hook state detection unit for detecting a hook state of the external telephone, By comparing the hooking time with the preset first and second times, it is determined whether the external telephone is in the off-hook state, the external telephone is in the on-hook state, or a remote switching signal. A hooking time judging means for judging, and when it is judged by the hooking time judging means that the signal is a remote switching signal, the facsimile is transmitted / received to an external telephone while facsimile transmission / reception is being performed, and the facsimile transmission / reception is performed if telephone facsimile is being transmitted. A facsimile apparatus, comprising: line switching means for switching inside. 2. A facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: a voice information storage means for storing a predetermined voice message; and when switching a line from a telephone call to a facsimile,
A line switching means for transmitting a voice message to that effect to the other party and then switching to the facsimile side.