JP3190555B2 - 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 which realizes not only a normal facsimile function but also a facsimile modem function by connecting to an external information processing apparatus such as a personal computer. The present invention relates to an improvement in a dialing system for transmitting data from an apparatus to a remote facsimile apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Documents such as documents and drawings created by a personal computer are directly transmitted by facsimile,
The function of receiving an image transmitted by facsimile via a telephone line is commonly called PC-FAX.
This PC-FAX function can be realized by connecting a personal computer to a facsimile apparatus having a data communication interface such as RS-232C. In this case, the facsimile apparatus functions as a facsimile modem.

[0003] The above-mentioned RS-232C is an international standard that stipulates connection conditions between a data terminal device relating to serial binary data transfer and a data communication device with respect to electrical characteristics, mechanical characteristics, and functions. Refers to that.

A conventional facsimile apparatus having such a PC-FAX function relates to a dialing system and dialing / busy tone detection from a PC-FAX application software on a personal computer. Commands are transmitted, and the apparatus main body performs a dialing operation in accordance with these commands from the personal computer.

[0005]

By the way, the facsimile machine, regardless of the manufacturer or model, is set so that the machine body alone passes the public telephone line standard of each destination. In other words, the public telephone line standard is not common in all countries and regions around the world.For example, the dialing system is different between Japan and the United States, and the facsimile machine has a public telephone line for each destination where it is installed. It is made to conform to the line standard.

On the other hand, PC-FAX application software set in a personal computer has a common basic part, but its operation setting varies depending on the manufacturer. The command to be executed has various specifications such as a command that can be arbitrarily changed by the user and a command that cannot be changed. Therefore, PC-FAX application software does not always conform to the line standard of the destination.

For this reason, if the PC-FAX application software of the personal computer to which the facsimile apparatus is connected sends a command designating a setting that deviates from the line standard of the destination, the data is transmitted from the personal computer. Is transmitted to a remote facsimile machine, in a conventional facsimile machine,
There is a problem in that the command is executed in accordance with the command sent from the personal computer, and the line cannot be connected.

[0008] For example, in a destination where a PC-FAX system is installed, a DTMF is transmitted from a personal computer although only pulse dialing is permitted.
(Dual Tone Multi Frequency) system, that is, when a command for instructing dialing by the push dial system is transmitted, the conventional facsimile apparatus incorporates software for converting the DTMF system to the pulse dial system in response to the command. If not, DT
The inconvenience of dialing by the MF method occurs.

On the other hand, some PC-FAX application software sends commands for dialing method and tone detection which are not required by the line standard of the destination. On the other hand, despite the fact that the facsimile apparatus has a configuration conforming to the line standard of the destination, it is necessary to separately create a source file for responding to the unnecessary command.
Therefore, the facsimile machine must deal with such an unnecessary command, so that the dialing sequence program of the machine itself cannot be used as a substitute, in other words, it cannot be used in common.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has a dialing system in accordance with a command from a personal computer when a facsimile apparatus functions as a modem of an external information processing apparatus. Using a dialing method that matches the destination set for the machine without using a PC, eliminates the occurrence of troubles during dialing and reduces unnecessary costs for responding to PC-FAX application software. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus which can be eliminated.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided another facsimile apparatus having a normal facsimile function and data from the external information processing apparatus connected to the apparatus main body via a communication network in a state of being connected to the external information processing apparatus. In order to achieve the above object, a facsimile apparatus in which a facsimile modem function capable of transmitting to the facsimile apparatus is set in the apparatus main body is configured as follows.

That is, in the present invention, a command receiving means for receiving a command from the external information processing apparatus, and a dial for executing dialing to a designated facsimile apparatus in accordance with the content of the command received by the command receiving means Means, and the dial means is configured to perform dialing using a transmission dialing method in a normal facsimile function set in the apparatus main body.

As described above, the dial means executes the dial tone / busy tone detection in accordance with the setting of the normal facsimile function set in the apparatus main body.
Further, the configuration is such that the selection between the pulse method and the DTMF method is performed in accordance with the setting of the normal facsimile function set in the apparatus main body.

With this configuration, when data from the external information processing apparatus is transmitted to the destination facsimile apparatus, a facsimile suitable for the destination is used without using a dialing method according to a command from the external information processing apparatus. Since the call is originated by the original dialing method of the device, it is possible to prevent execution of a dialing method which is problematic in the line standard specified by the external information processing device. In addition, since it is not necessary to perform confirmation that is not necessary, the load on the program is reduced. In addition, the operation at the time of dialing becomes clear because the line authorization is not dependent on the application software of the external information processing apparatus.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of a system configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in this figure, in this system, a facsimile apparatus FAX1 is connected to another facsimile apparatus FAX2 by a public telephone line L wired via a circuit switch S installed at a relay station, and also to external information processing. It is connected to a personal computer PC as an apparatus via an RS-232C cable C as a data communication cable.

FIG. 2 shows the overall configuration of the facsimile machine FAX1. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a control unit composed of a microcomputer system, which has a transmission function of encoding image data by a predetermined encoding method and generating a control signal necessary for facsimile communication, and image data of a received code. And a PC-FAX function, which controls the decoding of the data to the receiver and a predetermined reception control procedure.

The control unit 1 is provided with image data from the image processing unit 2. The image processing unit 2 performs halftone processing and other predetermined image processing on an output signal of the reading unit 3 that optically reads a document to be transmitted, and creates image data. An operation unit 4 includes various operation keys such as a start key, and includes a display unit. The display unit is constituted by a liquid crystal display device (LCD) or the like,
Various modes are displayed, and the other party's telephone number and current time are displayed.

Reference numeral 5 denotes an NCU (network control unit) which constitutes a receiving unit (which also functions as a transmitting unit) for receiving an image signal of the remote facsimile machine FAX2, and a control unit 1
Is connected to the public telephone line L via the NCU 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes a recording unit that records a received image or the like on a recording sheet, 7 denotes a storage unit, and 8 denotes an RS-232C as a command receiving unit.
The port functions as an interface unit for data communication between the personal computer PC and the control unit 1 and the storage unit 8.

FIG. 3 shows a connection state between the control unit 1 and other components. As shown in FIG.
The CPU 11 of the control unit 1 comprises an AM 9 and a ROM 10.
Indicates a reading unit 3, an operation unit 4, an NCU 5, a recording unit 6,
Each component of the AM 9, the ROM 10, and the RS-232C port 8 is connected to the data bus 12.

The RAM 9 functions as a memory.
It is backed up by a battery (not shown), which is another power source, and has a counter and the like. The ROM 10 stores various parameters for overall control,
A control program for AT commands and other necessary software are stored.

The facsimile apparatus FAX1 having the above configuration is
In the normal operation mode, when a call command, a telephone number, and transmission information are given to the control unit 1 by operating the keys of the operation unit 4, communication is performed between the control unit 1, the image processing unit 2, and the NCU 5, A call is made to the destination via the public telephone line L, and transmission information such as image data is transmitted to the public telephone line L after the line connection. When receiving, the control unit 1 performs communication between the control unit 1 and the recording unit 6, the operation unit 4, and the NCU 5 in response to the incoming call, and executes a predetermined reception control procedure.

Here, the normal operation mode is an operation mode in which data is not exchanged between the facsimile machine FAX1 and the personal computer PC, that is, a so-called facsimile mode, in which normal transmission / reception by the facsimile machine FAX1 alone is performed. This is set when using the function or copy function.

The communication procedure in the normal operation mode of the facsimile apparatus is performed as shown in FIG. 4 for non-standard communication between facsimile apparatuses of a common model, for example. In this figure, a thick solid line indicates a high-speed signal, a thin solid line indicates a low-speed signal excluding a call, and a broken line indicates a single tone signal. First, when the calling-side facsimile machine FAX1 calls the facsimile machine FAX2 in step # 1, a CNG signal, which is a ring tone, is sent to the called side.

When the called side receives the CNG signal, in step # 2 the CED signal as the called station identification signal, the NSF signal as the non-standard function identification signal, the CSI signal as the called terminal identification signal, and the digital identification signal. A DIS signal, which is a signal, is returned to the calling side. The calling side that has received these signals from the called side determines in step # 3 that the transmitting terminal identification signal T
An SI signal, an NSS signal which is a non-standard function setting signal, and a TCF signal for performing a training check are transmitted.

When the caller's training check is completed,
At step # 4, the called side confirms that the reception preparation confirmation signal CF
An R signal is returned, which gives a message transmission permission. The calling side that has received the CFR signal sends an image signal in step # 5, and sends an end of page of the facsimile message and an EOP signal indicating that there is no other document to send in step # 6. Then, in step # 7, after receiving the MCF signal indicating that the message sent from the called side has been completely received, the DCN signal, which is the disconnection command signal, is sent to the called side.

Note that another facsimile machine FAX2 is
Any device that can execute the normal operation mode is sufficient, and the structure and function of the facsimile machine FAX1 may be any as long as the device has the above-described structure and function.

The RS-232C port 8 is connected to a personal computer PC via an RS-232C cable C by connecting a functional expansion board (not shown) provided with an internal register. The facsimile apparatus FAX1 can be used as a facsimile modem. The interface unit for data communication between the personal computer PC and the control unit 1 and the storage unit 8 is not limited to the RS-232C.

In this case, by mounting the function expansion board, one of the plurality of keys on the operation unit 4 is specified and assigned to the facsimile modem function transition.
Further, the control unit 1 registers the function of the specific key in the RAM 9. With such a configuration, the personal computer PC can control the facsimile machine FAX1 by a so-called AT command, and the operation mode of the facsimile machine FAX1 is automatically changed from the normal operation mode to the PC-FAX mode. This PC-
In the fax mode, the personal computer PC
Can be transmitted and received by facsimile via the facsimile machine FAX1.

In the above configuration, when transmitting data from the personal computer PC, in the present embodiment, by executing a command received from the personal computer PC via the RS-232C port 8,
Performs dialing to the specified destination.

In this case, upon receiving the ATD command, which is a dial command, from the personal computer PC, the control unit 1 activates the NCU 5 and dials the designated facsimile machine FAX2 in accordance with the command. At this time, for example, a dial-related command from the personal computer PC and a parameter related to the dial command are not all executed as they are, but a call is made according to a dialing method set in the apparatus main body, so that the personal computer PC Facsimile machine FAX specified from
Dialing to 2 is performed.

The ATD command is TIA / EIA-6
02, the function expansion is permitted by the application software manufacturer. The AT commands include, for example, the following. D: Dial command T: Specification using DTMF dialing P: Specification using pulse dialing X: Tone detection setting

The parameters relating to the dial command include the following, for example. 0-9 # * ABCD: Dial number T: Tone designation P: Pulse designation ＠: Silence detection,: Pause w: Dial tone detection

For example, when the setting contents of the apparatus main body are dialing method, pulse method, dial tone / busy tone not detected, the command from the personal computer PC is ATX4DT0676640123, where X4: dial tone / busy tone detection. DT0676640123: Dial the number “0676640123” by the DTMF method. However, in the actual dialing, the dial tone / busy tone is not detected by the command of the personal computer PC, and the dialing is performed by the pulse method according to the setting of the apparatus main body.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention, a normal facsimile function and a function of transmitting data from an external information processing apparatus to a remote facsimile apparatus, such as a PC-FAX function, are provided. When dialing data from an external information processing apparatus to a remote facsimile apparatus using a dialing method in accordance with a command from the external information processing apparatus, a normal facsimile apparatus is used. Dialing is performed using the dialing method used for transmission in the function.

Therefore, execution of a dialing method designated by an external information processing apparatus and causing a problem in line standards, for example, DTMF dialing from a telephone line with a pulse dial line contract can be prevented. Can be prevented.

In addition, since it is not necessary to execute an unnecessary confirmation item such as a dial tone detection designation from an external information processing apparatus when the dial tone detection is not obligated by the line standard, for example, Load can be reduced.

Further, since the authorization of the line authorization does not depend on the application software of the external information processing apparatus, there is no inconvenience that the operation differs depending on the application software, and the operation at the time of dialing becomes clear, for example. Demonstrates excellent effects.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating an example of a system configuration of a facsimile apparatus and a personal computer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the facsimile machine.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a connection state between a control unit and other components.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a signal sequence in a normal operation mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Control part 3 Reading part 4 Operation part 5 NCU 6 Recording part 7 Storage part 8 RS-232C port 9 RAM 11 CPU FAX1 Facsimile machine PC Personal computer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/00 H04M 11/00 H04N 1/32

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An ordinary facsimile function and a facsimile modem capable of transmitting data from an external information processing apparatus to another facsimile apparatus connected to a communication network while the apparatus main body is connected to the external information processing apparatus. A facsimile apparatus having a function set in the apparatus main body, a command receiving means for receiving a command from the external information processing apparatus, and a destination facsimile apparatus designated in accordance with the content of the command received by the command receiving means Dial means for executing dialing to
A facsimile apparatus, wherein the dialing means is configured to perform dialing using a transmission dialing method in a normal facsimile function set in the apparatus main body. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dial means is configured to execute dial tone / busy tone detection in accordance with a setting in a normal facsimile function set in the apparatus main body. 3. The dial means includes a pulse method and a DTM.
2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein selection of any one of the F methods is performed according to a setting in a normal facsimile function set in the apparatus main body.