JP3176988B2 - 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, and more particularly, to a facsimile apparatus which facilitates language processing for displaying, recording, or registering various information in facsimile processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a facsimile apparatus displays guidance information in a predetermined language on a display unit in order to facilitate an operator's operation in facsimile communication and to clearly indicate processing contents. 2. Description of the Related Art Transmission destination information, transmission destination information, and the like are recorded and output on recording paper.

However, such a facsimile machine is
Not only in Japan, they are sometimes exported and installed abroad, and recently, in Japan, there are many opportunities for people of different nationalities in different languages to work at the same business establishment. Use the same facsimile machine more and more. For this reason, various kinds of information relating to the operation of the facsimile machine need to be displayed or recorded in a language that is easy for the operator who actually uses to understand, and the language can be selected according to the area where the machine is installed and its user. Is desired.

Therefore, in the conventional facsimile apparatus, various information is stored in a memory in advance in one language mainly used in an area where the facsimile apparatus is installed, that is, in a destination, and the various information is stored in the memory. The display or the recording is performed by reading the data. When a plurality of people in different languages use the same facsimile machine, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 3-13163, an operator selects an arbitrary language to obtain a desired language. Display and record output of various information.

[0005]

However, in such a conventional facsimile apparatus, in the case of the above, since various kinds of information are displayed only in one language for each destination, the operator is required to operate in a language zone other than the destination. In the case of humans, the meaning of the various information displayed or recorded cannot be understood,
It is necessary to design and manufacture the facsimile machine for each destination, which causes a problem of high cost.

If the operator is provided with a means for designating an arbitrary language, the same facsimile machine can be used by a plurality of operators of different languages, and the design and manufacture of the machine are made for each destination. There is an advantage that there is no need. However, in various types of information for displaying or recording a plurality of languages in a selectable manner, there are cases where a predetermined character such as guide information is displayed and a case where an arbitrary character is selected and a name is registered. The method of displaying characters is different, and no specific input means for selecting a different language for display or registration or registering a name or the like is mentioned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and can be operated even if a facsimile apparatus is installed in an area having a different language or the same facsimile apparatus is used by a plurality of operators having different languages. The method and various information are displayed in the operator's native language in an easy-to-understand manner, ensuring reliable operation, reducing the operator's burden of selecting languages, and selecting languages for display and registration individually. It is intended to provide a facsimile machine that can be used.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
It has character fonts of the languages of each country and provides various information such as guidance information indicating the operation method and the contents of input instructions when sending and receiving facsimile, management information such as transmission results and reception results, transmission destination information or transmission source information, etc. A facsimile apparatus comprising: display / recording output means for displaying on a display unit using a predetermined language and recording and outputting from the recording unit; and language selecting means for selecting a language to be displayed on the display / recording output means. When displaying or recording a predetermined message,
Message specifying means for specifying the character of the message and the display position of the character in association with each other; and, based on the specified character and the display position, the address of the character information and the display position information of the message in the selected language. Address designation means for designating, and message information output means for outputting character information and display position information of a message according to the designated address are provided, and a character and a display position are determined according to a language in which a predetermined message is displayed. It is characterized in that it is designated and displayed or recorded and output.

[0009] The invention according to claim 2 is a method according to claim 1.
In the facsimile apparatus, when an arbitrary character is input and a unique message is registered, character input means for inputting a character using a character input unit corresponding to a character font of each language, and input by the character input unit Character designating means for designating a character, character address designating means for designating an address of character information in the selected language based on the designated character, and character information for outputting character information based on the designated character address And output means for inputting and registering a unique message using a character corresponding to a selected language of an arbitrary character.

[0010] The third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect.
In the facsimile apparatus described above, a language selecting means for displaying a predetermined message and a language selecting means for registering a unique message by inputting an arbitrary character are separately provided, and a display message and a registration message are provided. It is characterized in that a message and a different language can be switched.

The invention described in claim 4 is the invention according to claim 2 or 3.
In the described facsimile apparatus, the character input means is provided with a character font display means capable of displaying a character font example corresponding to a language to be input for each input key,
Character input is possible while looking at a character font example displayed in the currently selected language. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the facsimile apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, an operation instruction display means is provided at an operation instruction description position on an operation port for performing a facsimile operation, and is currently selected. The description is displayed on the display unit of the operation explanation display means in a language.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claims 1 to 5 .
In the facsimile machine according to any of the above, a language used by the device user is registered in advance in association with the user, and a language discriminating unit that discriminates the user at the start of using the device, Is provided, and a language to be used is automatically set in accordance with a user of the apparatus. Invention according to claim 7, claim 1 6 Neu
In the facsimile apparatus described in any of the above, the language selection means is characterized in that a language code for each language is converted into a barcode in advance, and the language is selected by reading the barcode.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a predetermined message is displayed or recorded and output,
The character of the message and the display position are specified, and the character information and the display position information of the message in the language selected based on the specified character and the display position are specified. By outputting the display position information, a predetermined message is displayed or recorded and output at an appropriate position using characters in the selected language.

According to the second aspect of the present invention having the above structure, when an arbitrary character is inputted and a unique message is registered, a character is designated using a character input unit corresponding to a character font of each language. By specifying the address of the character information in the language selected based on the character, and outputting the character information by the specified character address, inputting any character in the character in the selected language, a unique message Is registered.

In the third aspect of the present invention having the above-described structure, the display message and the registration message can be switched in different languages, so that, for example, the guidance display for the guidance operation is displayed in the native language and registered. Characters can be registered in another language, and the degree of freedom in language selection is improved. In the invention according to claim 4 having the above configuration, when registering an arbitrary message or the like, a character font example corresponding to the selected language is displayed corresponding to each key of the key input unit for performing character input. Since the display means is provided, the user can surely input characters while viewing the example of the character font displayed in the selected language.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, display means for operation explanation is provided at the operation explanation position on the operation port, and guidance is displayed according to the selected language. The operation can be performed while viewing the operation description displayed in the selected language, so that it is not necessary to change the design of the operation port for each destination.

In the invention according to the sixth aspect having the above-mentioned structure, the language used by the device user is registered in advance in correspondence with the user, and the user is determined at the start of use of the device, whereby the user is used. Since the setting of the language to be used is automatically performed according to the user, the burden on the operator is reduced, and the operability is improved. In the invention according to claim 7 having the above-described configuration, an arbitrary language can be selected by reading a barcode. Therefore, even when there are a plurality of languages to be selected and the number of times of switching is large, the operation can be easily performed. it can.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on embodiments.
First, the configuration will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit),
It controls the entire system. 2 is ROM (Read
Only Memory) stores firmware for determining the control operation of the CPU 1. 3 is RAM (Random Acc
The ess memory) forms a work area and a temporary storage area required for the CPU 1 to perform control. 4
Denotes an operation port, which comprises a display device, a key input device, and the like necessary for operating the facsimile machine. Reference numeral 5 denotes an NCU (network control unit) connected to a line,
When transmitting / receiving image information, a communication procedure required for communication with a partner terminal is executed. Reference numeral 6 denotes a modem for modulating and demodulating an image signal for transmitting and receiving data between facsimile apparatuses connected via a line. Reference numeral 7 denotes a DCR (encoding / decoding unit) which encodes and compresses an image signal, decompresses the encoded data, and restores the original data. A scanner 8 reads image information while conveying a document to be transmitted in line units. A plotter 9 receives the binarized image data and prints it out on a recording sheet. Reference numeral 10 denotes a system bus, which is a data path for exchanging data between the units of the facsimile machine.

Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 2 is a view for explaining one embodiment of the message display operation according to the first aspect of the present invention. In the figure, 11 is a display parameter table, 12 is a position information indirect address table, 13 is a display character indirect address table, 14 is a position information table, and 15 is a display character table.

First, in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, each display parameter for displaying a predetermined message is stored in the display parameter table 11 in advance in the ROM 2 shown in FIG. The display parameter includes an address of the position information indirect address table 12 that specifies the address of the display position information of the message,
It is composed of parameters such as the address of the display character indirect address table 13 indicating the address of the character information.

The operation port 4 shown in FIG.
When displaying a message on the display provided in the display unit, the display control unit for controlling the display data refers to the display parameter passed from the display parameter table 11 and displays the position information indirect address table 12 and the display parameter. From each address of the character indirect address table 13, the address of the display position information and the character information are calculated using the value of the language code of the language designated in advance as an offset. Then, display position information (here, “0”) and character information (here, “START”) of the position information table 14 and the display character table 15 are selected based on the address, and displayed based on these information. The control unit is displayed on the operation port 4 at a predetermined position on the display.

Here, the selected language is English, but in the case of Japanese, for example, the character "start" is displayed. Depending on the message to be displayed, it may be displayed as a short sentence consisting of multiple words, but in this case, the position of the character differs depending on the sentence to be displayed and the language to be selected. By selecting a parameter from the display parameter table 11, a sentence can be displayed at an appropriate display position in a desired language without overlapping characters.

In the above embodiment, the position information indirect address table 12 and the position information table 14 and the display character indirect address table 13 and the display character table 15 are configured as separate tables. Alternatively, a table configuration in which the data of the position information table 14 and the data of the display character table 15 are arranged may be employed.

Next, FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of the message display operation according to the second aspect of the present invention. In the figure, 16 is an input key code table, 17 is a character indirect address table, and 18 is a character table. Therefore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a unique message such as a name or the like corresponds to a character font of each language.
In this case, the registration is performed using the character input unit. In this case, a keyboard is provided on the operation port 4 shown in FIG.
The key code corresponds to key 03..., And by pressing an arbitrary key, the address of the character indirect address table 17 to be referred to from the key code of the input key is determined by the input key code table 16. The calculated address is calculated by using the value of the language code of the language selected in advance (here, English) in the character indirect address table 17 as an offset to calculate the address of the character information. Based on this, the character "B" is set in the character table 18. Thus, by inputting an arbitrary character using the selected language, a unique message such as a name can be registered.

In the above embodiment, the character indirect address table 17 and the character table 18 are configured as separate tables. However, a table configuration in which the data of the character table 18 is arranged in the character indirect address table 17 is adopted. Can also. Next, in the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the operation for displaying or recording and outputting the display message and the registration message has been described. By individually providing the selecting means, it is possible to use different languages for the display message and the registration message. For this reason, for example, when performing guidance display for guiding a facsimile, it is displayed in the native language, and the characters to be registered can be registered in another language, and the language selection according to the situation Becomes possible, and operability is improved.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a character display state of the character input unit according to the fourth aspect of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 19 denotes a character input key, in which a character code "02" is displayed. Reference numeral 20 denotes a display unit for displaying a character corresponding to the character input key 19, for example, by using a small liquid crystal display (LCD) or by selectively turning on light emitting elements arranged in a matrix. Anything that can display a character may be used.
In FIG. 4, when the selected language is English, the display unit 20 is used as a character input by the character input keys 19.
Displays "B".

Therefore, according to the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, when registering an arbitrary name, message, or the like, each character input key 1 for inputting a character is used.
A display unit 20 for displaying a character to be input is provided adjacent to 9. For this reason, even if the language to be registered is switched, a character corresponding to the language is displayed on the display unit 20 in correspondence with the character input key 19, so that the character can be input reliably while looking at it. Can be improved.

Next, FIG. 5 is a view showing a message display state provided at an operation description position on the operation port according to the fifth aspect of the present invention. In the figure, 21
Is a display unit that replaces the description of the operation description on the board of the operation port 4. Like the display unit 20, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting element arranged in a matrix is used. The character can be displayed.

As shown in FIG. 5, "START" when English is selected is displayed on the display unit 21, but when "Japanese" is selected, "Start" and the like are displayed on the display unit 21. Characters are displayed. As described above, the operation description on the operation port 4 is displayed on the display unit 21 in accordance with the selected language, so that the operator can operate while viewing the operation description in the native language. And the need to change the design of the operation port for each destination is eliminated,
Costs can be reduced.

Next, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation example when selecting a language on the operation display section of the operation port.
In the figure, 22 and 23 are operation ports 4
7 is a selection menu displayed in the language selection mode on the display in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of selected languages are displayed, and the operator moves the cursor to a desired language by using up, down, left, and right arrow keys, and then presses the return key. Select a language. In FIG. 6, the cursor is on "Japanese", but if it is moved to the right, "English" is selected. By scrolling down, a menu like the display 23 is displayed and the selection is continued. be able to.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of an embodiment according to the sixth aspect of the present invention. In the embodiment according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the native language of the user is registered in the RAM 3 or the like in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, in step 100, when the user is determined by, for example, inputting an ID code, if the input ID code matches a user registered in advance, the determination may be made. it can. Next, in step 101, a registered language code corresponding to the user is searched and set, whereby the language is automatically selected, and the language display can be switched in step 102.

If the user cannot be determined in step 100 or the language code has not been registered in advance, the process ends. Thus, in the case of the embodiment according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the language used is automatically set according to the user, so that the burden on the operator is reduced and the operability is improved.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of an embodiment according to the seventh aspect of the present invention. In the embodiment according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a desired language can be selected by converting a language code for each language into a barcode in advance and reading a predetermined barcode by a barcode reader instantaneously. It was made. Thus, as shown in FIG. 8, in step 200, it is determined whether or not a barcode has been read.
If there is, the language code is changed to the language code corresponding to the bar code read in step 201, and the language display is switched in step 202. If the barcode cannot be read in step 200, the process ends.

Thus, in the case of the embodiment according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the language selecting operation can be easily performed even when there are many languages to be selected and the number of switching times is large.

[0035]

As described above, according to the facsimile apparatus of the first aspect, when displaying or recording and outputting a predetermined message, a character and a display position of the message are designated, and the designation is performed. Since the address of the character information and the display position information of the message in the language selected based on the selected character and the display position are designated, and the character information and the display position information of the message are output by the address, It is possible to display or record a predetermined message at an appropriate position according to the character of the selected language, regardless of the installation area of the facsimile machine or the nationality of the operator,
It can be operated reliably by the native language display.

According to the facsimile apparatus of the second aspect, when registering a unique message by inputting an arbitrary character, the character is specified by using a character input unit corresponding to a character font of each language. Then, the address of the character information in the language selected based on the character is specified, and the character information is output according to the specified character address. , A unique message can be registered.

According to the facsimile apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the display message and the registration message can be switched to different languages. Characters can be registered in another language, and the degree of freedom in language selection is improved. According to the facsimile apparatus of the fourth aspect, when registering an arbitrary name, message, or the like, a character font corresponding to a selected language corresponding to each key of a key input unit for performing character input. Since the display means for displaying the example is provided, it is possible to input characters reliably while looking at the example of the character font corresponding to the selected language, thereby improving operability.

According to the facsimile apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the operation explanation display means is provided at the operation explanation position on the operation port so that the guidance display corresponding to the selected language is performed. Therefore, since it is possible to perform the operation while looking at the operation description displayed in the native language, the operability is improved, and it is not necessary to change the design of the operation port for each destination.

According to the facsimile apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the user's native language is registered in correspondence with the user, and the user is identified at the start of use of the apparatus. The language setting will be automatically set accordingly.
The burden on the operator is reduced, and the operability is improved. According to the facsimile apparatus according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, an arbitrary language can be selected by reading a barcode. Therefore, even if there are many languages to be selected and the number of times of switching is large, the language selection operation can be performed. It can be done easily.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an embodiment of a message display operation according to the invention described in claim 1;

FIG. 3 is a view for explaining an embodiment of a message display operation according to the invention described in claim 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a character display state of a character input unit according to the invention described in claim 4;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a message display state provided at an operation description position on an operation port according to the invention of claim 5;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an operation example when selecting a language on the operation display unit of the operation port.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of an embodiment according to the invention described in claim 6;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of an embodiment according to the invention described in claim 7;

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 RAM 4 Operation Port 5 NCU 6 Modem 7 DCR 8 Scanner 9 Plotter 10 System Bus 11 Display Parameter Table 12 Position Information Indirect Address Table 13 Display Character Indirect Address Table 14 Position Information Table 15 Display Character Table 16 Input Key Code table 17 Character indirect address table 18 Character table 19 Character input keys 20, 21 Display unit 22, 23 Display

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A facsimile machine having character fonts in various languages, guidance information indicating an operation method and contents of input instructions, management information such as transmission results and reception results, transmission destination information or transmission source information, etc. Display / recording / output means for displaying various kinds of information on a display unit using a predetermined language and recording / outputting from the recording unit; and language selecting means for selecting a language to be displayed by the display / recording output means. and a facsimile apparatus, when displaying or recording the output a predetermined message, and a display position of the character and the character of the message Seki
A message specifying means for specifying attach communication, and addressing means for designating the character information as the address of the display position information of the message in the selected language on the basis of the character and a display position that is the specified, is the designated Message information output means for outputting character information and display position information of a message by an address, wherein a character and a display position are designated and displayed or recorded and output according to a language in which a predetermined message is displayed. A facsimile machine characterized by the above. Wherein by entering arbitrary characters when registering a unique message, a character input unit for performing character input using character input portion corresponding to the character font national language, the character input portion Character designating means for designating a character to be input; character address designating means for designating an address of character information in the selected language based on the designated character; and outputting character information by the designated character address 2. A facsimile apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: character information output means for inputting and registering a unique message using a character corresponding to a language in which an arbitrary character is selected. 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the language selecting means for displaying a predetermined message and the language selecting means for registering a unique message by inputting an arbitrary character. A facsimile apparatus provided separately, wherein a display message and a registration message can be switched to different languages. 4. A facsimile apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said character input means is provided with a character font display means capable of displaying a character font example corresponding to a language to be input for each input key. A facsimile apparatus wherein a character can be input while looking at an example of a character font displayed in a currently selected language. 5. A facsimile apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the operating instructions described position on the operation port for facsimile operation Operating display unit provided, wherein in the language currently selected A facsimile apparatus wherein an explanation is displayed on a display unit of an operation explanation display means. 6. The facsimile apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, and the language registration means registering in advance in correspondence the language device user uses the user, at the start of use of equipment A facsimile machine, comprising: a user discriminating means for discriminating a user; and a setting of a language to be used is automatically performed according to a device user. 7. The facsimile apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, as the language selection means, pre-bar-coded language code for each language, to select the language by reading the bar code A facsimile machine characterized in that: