JP3060450U - Fax reception data processor - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a facsimile reception data processing device capable of preventing a memory full state by performing printing processing with priority. A codec section (6) is set to alternately switch between a reception phase and a printing phase. In the reception phase, one line of received data is decoded to determine image quality. In the printing phase, an image memory (7) is decoded.
As long as the data is stored in N, data for N lines is continuously decoded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

[Technical field to which the invention belongs]

 The present invention relates to a fax machine, particularly to a fax machine having a relatively slow printing process, such as a plain paper fax machine, and more particularly to a fax reception data processing device for efficiently processing received fax reception data.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Conventional plain paper fax machines, which have relatively slow print processing, use a receive phase to store the encoded and received fax data in the image memory and a print process to decode and print the data stored in the image memory. The phase and the processing are alternately switched by one codec unit for each line. For example, after receiving one page of fax reception data in the image memory, the first one line is set to the printing phase, one line of data read from the memory is decoded, and sent to the printing unit. One line is received and stored in the image memory again. This operation is repeated continuously. In a facsimile apparatus disclosed in JP-A-5-83441 or JP-A-6-164776, a process of alternately switching a codec unit for encoding and decoding fax reception data between a reception phase and a print phase. Did not try to do.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

 As described above, in a device using a plain paper facsimile that processes encoded received fax data while alternately switching between a reception phase and a printing phase, the printing process on plain paper is relatively slower than the reception process. For this reason, received data is temporarily stored in a memory and processed. However, in order to process the codec section so that the reception phase and the printing phase are alternately switched one line at a time, the data of one line of the received data is considerably large (for example, when image data with a fine picture is received). ), The printing operation becomes too slow to be ignored. In this case, when a printing trouble or the like occurs, it is necessary to perform the printing process again from the beginning of the page being processed at that time. Since it is normal to process the printed data for the one page, the printing process becomes slower, and the time required to delete the data for the one page from the image memory becomes longer. As a result, the free space of the image memory gradually decreases, and in some cases, the memory becomes full and there is a problem that it takes time to process the reception phase.

An object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile reception data processing device capable of preventing a memory full state by performing print processing with priority.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image memory for storing coded and compressed fax reception data, a printing unit for decoding data stored in the image memory and performing printing processing, and storing the fax reception data in the image memory. A facsimile reception data processing device comprising: a reception phase to perform a print phase in which data stored in an image memory is decoded and printing processing is performed by alternately switching and validating the reception phase. In the phase, when data for a plurality of lines is stored in the image memory, data for a predetermined number of lines are continuously decoded and then switched to a reception phase.

The control means alternately switches between a reception phase for storing the received fax data in the image memory and a print phase for decoding the state stored in the image memory and performing a printing process. When data for a plurality of lines is stored, processing is performed so that a predetermined number of lines of data are continuously decoded in the printing phase before switching to the receiving phase. In this way, even when the received data having a long data length for one line is continuously received, the printing process does not become long and the memory can be prevented from being full. You.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the control means decodes the data received from the image memory in the reception phase while decoding the data received by the facsimile to determine the image quality and store the image in the image memory in the printing phase. And print processing.

The codec section is used in the reception phase to decode the received fax data to determine the image quality, and the data stored in the image memory remains encoded data, that is, encoded and compressed. Of received data. Then, during the printing phase, the data in the image memory is decoded again and the printing process is performed.

By doing so, the capacity of the image memory can be reduced.

[0010] The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that a portion for performing decoding is constituted by hardware.

[0011] By configuring the codec unit with hardware, it is possible to speed up the processing in both the reception phase and the printing phase.

[0012]

[Embodiment of the invention]

 FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fax machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A modem 1 and a transmission / reception unit 2 including a buffer are connected to the public line, and reception data processed by the transmission / reception unit 2 in the reception mode is input to the control unit 3. A scanner 4, a printing unit 5, a codec unit 6, and an image memory 7 are connected to the control unit 3.

The scanner 4 scans a document fed by a document feeder (not shown) to read a document image. The printing unit 5 prints image data on one sheet of A4 size or the like supplied from a cassette or the like (not shown). The codec unit 6 decodes (decompresses) the received data at the time of reception, and performs coding compression (encoding) at the time of transmission. The image memory 7 stores original image data read by the scanner 4 at the time of transmission, and stores data received from the transmission / reception unit 2 at the time of reception. At the time of transmission, the control unit 3 sequentially encodes the image data stored in the image memory 7 one line at a time and sends the image data to the transmission / reception unit 2. At the time of reception, the received data before decoding is stored in the image memory 7 while the received data is decoded by the codec unit 6 to determine the image quality, and the received data stored in the image memory 7 is decoded by the codec unit 6. And outputs it to the printing unit 5. The codec unit 6 enters a reception phase when processing received data, and enters a print phase during print processing.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the control unit 3 in the receiving phase and the printing phase.

In the reception phase, the reception data output from the transmission / reception unit 2 is initially stored in the image memory 7 continuously for one page. In this embodiment, the phase of the codec unit 6 is switched from the receiving phase to the printing phase after receiving one page of image data without fail at the beginning of receiving the image memory 7. When the received data for one page is stored in the image memory 7, the codec unit 6 is set to the printing phase. At this time, since one page of data is stored in the image memory 7, the printing unit 5 collectively prints N (N> 1) lines of data. When the processing for N lines is completed, the codec unit 6 switches to the reception phase. In the receiving phase, one line of received data is stored in the image memory 7. Hereinafter, similarly, processing for N lines is repeated in the printing phase, and processing for one line is repeated in the receiving phase. Then, when the printing process for one page is completed, the data for one page in the image memory 7 is automatically deleted, and that portion becomes a free area. During this operation, if the received data length in the receiving phase becomes very long (for example, the picture is very fine), if the receiving phase and the printing phase are switched one line at a time, There is a possibility that the empty area of the image memory 7 gradually disappears and the memory becomes full. In this embodiment, however, since the processing for N lines is performed in the printing phase, such a memory full state occurs. Can be prevented. Therefore, the printing process in the printing unit 5 does not become slow.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit 3 when processing the received fax data.

When the reception mode is entered, one page is first received in ST1. As a result, the received data for one page is stored in the image memory 7. Next, the sequential switching of the codec unit 6 starts. First, in ST2, the print phase is set, and print decoding for one line is performed. That is, one line of data is read from the image memory 7, decoded, and output to the printing unit 5. Subsequently, in ST3, it is determined whether or not the print data is still stored in the image memory 7, and if so, the process proceeds from ST4 to ST2 to perform the print decode processing for the next one line. When the print decoding processing for N lines set in advance is completed, the process proceeds to ST5, where the reception phase is reached, and the reception decoding processing for one line is performed. That is, the image quality of one line of received data sent from the buffer of the transmitting / receiving unit 2 is determined by passing the data through the codec unit 6, and the received data is stored in the image memory 7.

With the above operation, it is possible to prevent a decrease in printing speed and a memory full state even when the received data length is long.

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent a decrease in printing speed and to prevent an image memory from becoming full.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the capacity of the image memory can be reduced. According to the third aspect of the present invention, the processing can be speeded up.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fax machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a control unit;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation of a control unit in a reception mode.

Claims (3)

[Utility model registration claims] An image memory that stores encoded and received fax data; a printing unit that decodes data stored in the image memory and prints the data;
Control means for alternately switching between a reception phase for storing the fax reception data in the image memory and a printing phase for decoding and printing the data stored in the image memory to enable the reception phase, and a control means for validating the reception phase. A fax reception data processing device wherein the control means switches to a reception phase after continuously decoding data for a predetermined number of lines when data for a plurality of lines is stored in an image memory in a printing phase. 2. The control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit decodes the received fax data in the receiving phase, determines the image quality, stores the data in the image memory, and decodes the data stored in the image memory in the printing phase to perform a printing process. Item 2. A fax reception data processing device according to Item 1. 3. The facsimile receiving apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the decoding section is constituted by hardware.