JP4948372B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus provided with a communication processing means for executing transmission processing of image data relating to a transmission original, and in particular, even when a transmission error occurs during transmission of a document image over a plurality of pages. On the side, the storage area of the image memory can be used effectively, while on the receiving side, the contents of the contents can be obtained by viewing the retransmission cover page with the advance notice information relating to the retransmission added as the sender information. The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus that can be easily grasped at a glance.

  2. Description of the Related Art A recent facsimile apparatus is known that performs re-transmission when a transmission error such as a malfunction of a public line network occurs during transmission of a document image covering a plurality of pages.

  As an example of such a re-transmission technique, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228867 discloses that transmission data is obtained by scaling or reducing data of a plurality of pages that have been successfully transmitted when a transmission error occurs during transmission of a document image over a plurality of pages. A technique is disclosed in which a re-transmission credit cover is created by placing within the size and further adding a re-transmission message, and the remaining original image is added to the re-transmission credit cover and re-transmission is performed. According to the re-transmission technique according to Patent Document 1, the re-transmission side creates a re-transmission credit cover on which a plurality of pages of already-transmitted originals are reduced and adds them to the re-transmission credit cover. By transmitting the remaining originals, the re-transmission time and transmission cost can be reduced, while the receiving side can easily and reliably determine the connection of documents that are divided and received by stopping transmission. Can be prevented.

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, on the transmission side, at the time of re-transmission, in order to create a resend credit cover page on which a plurality of pages that have already been transmitted are reduced and posted, transmission of all the documents on a plurality of pages is completed Until the image is confirmed, it is necessary to store and hold the original image in the image memory, and there is room for improvement from the viewpoint of effectively using the storage area of the image memory. On the other hand, on the receiving side, even if the cover for the re-transmission, which is a reduced-size document that has already been transmitted, is viewed, the problem is that the size of each page is too small to understand its contents. It was.

JP 2000-175014 A

  The problem to be solved is that when a transmission error occurs during transmission of a document image over a plurality of pages, there is room for improvement on the transmission side from the viewpoint of effectively using the storage area of the image memory on the transmission side. On the receiving side, even if the cover relating to retransmission is visually recognized, there is a tendency that the size of each page included therein is too small to understand its contents.

  According to the present invention, even when a transmission error occurs during transmission of an original image over a plurality of pages, the transmission side can effectively utilize the storage area of the image memory, while the reception side can The purpose of obtaining a facsimile machine that can be easily grasped at a glance by viewing the resend cover sheet with the advance notice information added as the sender information, A facsimile apparatus provided with a communication processing means for adding transmission information to all transmission documents over a page and transmitting the image, wherein an image memory for storing image data relating to the transmission document, and a transmission document over a plurality of pages Each time image data of each page is transmitted, success / failure determination means for determining success / failure related to the transmission of the image data, and the success / failure determination means that the image data has been successfully transmitted. When the determination is made, the memory management means for executing the reduction process for the storage capacity of the image memory for the image data related to the page that has been successfully transmitted, and the transmission / reception of the image data by the success / failure determination means When it is determined that the transmission has failed, the image data related to the page immediately before the corresponding page that failed to be transmitted is read from the image memory, and as the source information in the read image data, The main feature is that it is configured to include a retransmission cover page creation means for creating image data related to a retransmission cover page by adding notice information indicating that the page will be transmitted from now on.

  In the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention, when the success / failure determination unit determines that the transmission of the image data has been successful, the memory management unit targets the image data related to the corresponding page that has been successfully transmitted. While executing the reduction processing related to the storage capacity of the image memory, the retransmission cover sheet creation means determines that the transmission failed when the success / failure determination means determines that the transmission of the image data has failed. By reading the image data related to the previous page of the page from the image memory and adding the advance notice information indicating that the first page related to retransmission will be transmitted as the sender information in the read image data, the retransmission cover page In response to this, the communication processing means receives the information on the retransmission cover page to which the notice information is added as the sender information. Therefore, even if a transmission error occurs during transmission of a document image over multiple pages, the transmission side can effectively use the storage area of the image memory. On the other hand, on the receiving side, the notice information indicating that the first page related to retransmission will be transmitted from now on is visually recognized as the retransmission cover page added as the sender information in the page immediately before the corresponding page that failed to be transmitted, The contents can be easily grasped at a glance.

  Even if a transmission error occurs during transmission of a document image that spans multiple pages, the sending side can make effective use of the storage area of the image memory, while the receiving side has a notice regarding retransmission. The purpose of obtaining a facsimile device that can be easily grasped by looking at the contents of the retransmission cover sheet with the information added as the sender information, is that the success / failure determination means has successfully transmitted the image data. When the determination is made, the memory management means for executing the reduction process for the storage capacity of the image memory for the image data related to the page that has been successfully transmitted, and the success / failure determination means for transmitting the image data When it is determined that the transmission has failed, the image data related to the page immediately before the corresponding page that failed to be transmitted is read from the image memory, and the read image data is stored in the read image data. As a sender information, an advance notice information indicating that the first page related to retransmission will be transmitted from now on is added, and by means of an organic synergy with a retransmission cover page creation means for creating image data related to a retransmission cover page. It was realized.

  Hereinafter, a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  Hereinafter, as a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, a digital multifunction machine having various functions related to image formation such as a copy function, a printer function, and a scanner function in addition to a facsimile communication function will be described as an example. .

[Schematic Configuration of Facsimile Apparatus (Digital Multifunction Machine) According to Embodiment of the Present Invention]
FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a facsimile apparatus (digital multifunction peripheral) according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external view of an operation panel unit in the facsimile apparatus (digital multifunction peripheral).

  The facsimile machine 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a communication processing function for adding transmission information to all the transmission originals over a plurality of pages between the own machine and the other machine. That is, the apparatus 10 can use various functions including a copy job, a print job, or a network transmission (email transmission or data transmission) job in addition to a facsimile communication job, such as a microcomputer and a dedicated hardware circuit. It is controlled by the main control part 11 comprised from these. As an input / output device connected to the main control unit 11 and responsible for various functions, the apparatus 10 includes a scanner unit 21, an image processing unit 31, an engine unit 41, an operation panel unit 51, an HDD (hard disk drive) 61, a network I / O. An F (interface) unit 63 and a facsimile communication unit 65 are provided.

  The main control unit 11 includes a scanner controller 13 that performs operation control for realizing a scanner function, a copy controller 15 that performs operation control for realizing a copy function, and a printer controller 17 that performs operation control for realizing a printer function. In addition, a facsimile controller 19 that performs operation control for realizing the facsimile function is incorporated, and the overall operation of the apparatus is controlled.

  The scanner unit 21 includes an image irradiation lamp 23 and a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor 25 constituting a scanner (not shown). The scanner unit 21 irradiates the document with the image irradiation lamp 23, receives the reflected light with the CCD sensor 25, reads an image from the document, and outputs image data corresponding to the read image to the image processing unit 31. .

  The image processing unit 31 includes a correction unit 33, an image processing unit 35, and an image memory 37. The image processing unit 31 processes the image data read by the scanner unit 21 as necessary using the correction unit 33 and the image processing unit 35, and the processed image data is stored in an image memory (“image related to transmission original” of the present invention). It is stored in the image memory 37 or output to the engine unit 41, the facsimile communication unit 65, or the like. The correction unit 33 performs predetermined correction processing such as level correction and Y correction on the image data read by the scanner unit 21. The image processing unit 35 performs various types of processing such as image data compression or expansion processing and enlargement or reduction processing.

  The engine unit 41 includes a sheet conveying unit 43 including a sheet feeding cassette and a sheet feeding roller (not illustrated), an image forming unit 45 including a photosensitive drum, an exposure device, a developing device, and the like (not illustrated), a transfer roller (not illustrated), and the like. And a fixing unit 49 including a fixing roller (not shown). The engine unit 41 includes image data read by the scanner unit 21, image data transmitted from a client PC (personal computer) or the like by a LAN (Local Area Network) via the network I / F unit 63, and a facsimile communication unit 65. The image is printed on a sheet using image data such as fax data received from an external facsimile machine. Specifically, the paper transport unit 43 transports the paper to the image forming unit 45, the image forming unit 45 forms a toner image corresponding to the image data, the transfer unit 47 transfers the toner image to the paper, The fixing unit 49 fixes the toner image on a sheet to form an image.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the operation panel unit 51 includes a touch panel unit 53 and an operation key unit 55. The operation panel unit 51 is used for a user to perform operations related to a facsimile function, a scanner function, a printer function, a copy function, and the like, and gives an operation command or the like by the user to the main control unit 11.

  A touch panel unit (corresponding to “display means” of the present invention) 53 is configured by a touch panel unit or the like that combines a touch panel and a color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and various operation screens, for example, when executing a copy function, Information related to the document size, copy size, number of copies, etc. is displayed, and operation buttons for inputting various operation commands when the user touches the corresponding part are displayed.

  The operation key unit 55 includes a plurality of operation keys for accepting user operation inputs. For example, a key input of a required function is selected from various functions such as a facsimile function, a copy function, a printer function, and a scanner function. Used when the user selectively executes the operation. Specifically, for example, it is used when a user performs a numeric keypad input operation for selecting a transmission destination fax number when using a facsimile function, or when performing an input operation related to a one-touch dial or an abbreviated dial.

  An HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 61 stores image data read by the scanner unit 21 and various data such as an output format set in the image data. The image data stored in the HDD is not only used inside the image forming apparatus, the program, and the recording medium, but also confirmed from the client PC or the like via the network I / F unit 63 as necessary, It is transferred to a predetermined folder such as a PC or FTP server.

  The network I / F unit 63 uses a network interface (10 / 100Base-TX) or the like to control transmission / reception of various data to / from a user terminal 67 such as a client PC connected via a LAN.

  The facsimile communication unit (corresponding to “communication processing means for adding transmission source information to all transmission documents over a plurality of pages between the own device and the other device” of the present invention) 65 is read by the scanner unit 21. The image data of the transmitted original document is transmitted to the partner machine 73 via the public line network 71, and has a function of receiving the image data transmitted from the partner machine 73. The encoding / decoding unit 67, modulation / demodulation A unit 68 and a network control unit 69 are included.

  The encoding / decoding unit 67 has a function of compressing and encoding image data related to a transmission document and expanding and decoding received image data.

  The modem unit 68 has a function of modulating the compressed / encoded image data into an audio signal and demodulating the received audio signal into the image data.

  The network control unit 69 corresponds to an NCU (Network Control Unit), and has a function of performing network control such as sending a dial signal to the public network 71.

  By the way, even if a transmission error occurs during transmission of a document image over a plurality of pages, the transmission side can effectively use the storage area of the image memory, while the reception side performs re-transmission. In order to obtain a facsimile machine that can be easily grasped at a glance by viewing the resend cover sheet with the notice information added as the sender information, the facsimile controller 19 incorporated in the main control unit 11 A success / failure determination unit (corresponding to “success / failure determination unit” of the present invention) 75 that determines success / failure related to transmission of image data each time image data of each page is transmitted among a plurality of pages. When the success / failure determination unit 75 determines that the image data has been successfully transmitted, the image memory 37 for the image data related to the page that has been successfully transmitted is used. When the memory management unit (corresponding to the “memory management unit” of the present invention) 77 that executes the reduction process related to the storage capacity and the success / failure determination unit 75 determine that transmission of image data has failed, The image data related to the page immediately before the corresponding page that failed to be transmitted is read from the image memory 37, and the notice information that the first page related to retransmission is to be transmitted is added as the source information in the read image data. Thus, a retransmission cover page creation unit (corresponding to the “retransmission cover page creation means” of the present invention) 79 for creating image data related to a retransmission cover page is provided. Note that the memory management unit 77 “executes the reduction process related to the storage capacity of the image memory 37 for the image data related to the page successfully transmitted” means the data amount of the image data related to the page This is a concept that includes both the process of compressing the image and the process of deleting the image data related to the page.

[Operation of Facsimile Apparatus According to Embodiment of Present Invention]
Next, an operation flow of the facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the operation of the facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a facsimile transmission procedure from the occurrence of an error to retransmission, and FIG. 5 is related to retransmission as source information. It is explanatory drawing of the resending cover sheet to which the notice information to the effect of transmitting the first page is added. In the following, a case where image data related to a document (5 pages) is transmitted from the own device 10 to a certain partner device 73 will be described as an example. Further, it is assumed that the image data related to the original is accumulated and stored in a predetermined storage area in the image memory 37 by reading the original by the scanner unit 21 by the user's start key operation.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the main control unit (including the facsimile controller 19; the same applies hereinafter) 11 sends image data in units of image data for one page to the counterpart machine 73 designated by the user's operation. A command signal is sent to the effect that the facsimile communication unit 65 executes the transmission process. In response, the facsimile communication unit 65 executes image data transmission processing according to the command signal (step S11).

  Next, the success / failure determination unit 75 determines success / failure related to the transmission of the image data every time the image data of each page is transmitted among the transmission documents over a plurality of pages (step S12).

  As a result of the success / failure determination in step S12, when it is determined that the transmission of the image data is successful, the memory management unit 77 determines the image data related to the corresponding page that has been successfully transmitted from the stored contents of the image memory 37. The process of deleting sequentially is executed (step S13). Here, in step S13, the memory management unit 77 may employ a configuration that executes a process of compressing the data amount of the image data related to the page that has been successfully transmitted, instead of the sequential deletion process in step S13. Good. In this case, all the image data successfully transmitted is stored in all pages when it is determined that the transmission of all pages of the transmission document is completed as a result of the end determination in step S14 described below. The images are deleted from the image memory 37 at once.

  Next, the main control unit 11 performs an end determination related to whether or not to end the facsimile transmission by monitoring the progress of the facsimile transmission (step S14).

  As a result of the end determination in step S14, when it is determined that transmission of all pages (5 pages) of the transmission document has not been completed, the main control unit 11 returns the process flow to step S11, and While it is determined that transmission of all pages (5 pages) of the transmission document has been completed while the processing is sequentially performed, a DCN (Disconnect) signal (disconnect command signal) is sent from the own device 10 to the other device 73. By transmitting the data to the facsimile communication unit 65, a series of transmission processing is terminated.

  The above is the flow of processing when the facsimile transmission can be normally performed without causing a transmission error during the transmission of the image data.

  On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, a flow of processing when a transmission error occurs during transmission of the image data of the fourth page will be described.

  That is, as a result of the success / failure determination in step S12, when it is determined that the transmission of the image data has failed during the transmission of the image data of the fourth page, the retransmission cover page creation unit 79, as shown in FIG. In addition, the image data related to the page (third page) immediately before the corresponding page (fourth page) that failed to be transmitted is read from the image memory 37, and as the transmission source information in the read image data (third page), By adding the notice information indicating that the first page (4th page) related to retransmission will be transmitted from now on, image data related to the retransmission cover page is created (step S15). Here, as the advance notice information, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, a message such as “This page is a resent cover letter. ) May be added as source information on the immediately preceding page (third page). It should be noted that an image size reduction process (for example, a slight reduction process such as 90% size reduction may be performed) is performed on the immediately preceding page (the third page) as a resent cover sheet as necessary. May be. In this way, the retransmit cover page includes the conventional sender information (for example, sender company name, sender affiliation name) for the page (page 3) immediately before the corresponding page (page 4) that failed to be sent. In addition to the addition of the sender facsimile number, the date of transmission, the date and time of transmission, the sender document number, the page number of the transmission manuscript, etc., notice information that the first page (4th page) related to retransmission will be transmitted from now on However, since it is added as the sender information, even if the resent cover sheet is visually recognized as in the prior art, there is no problem that the size of each page is too small to understand its contents.

  Next, the main control unit 11 performs an end determination on whether or not to end the facsimile transmission by monitoring the progress of the facsimile transmission (step S14). Since three sheets (pages 3 to 5) including the page have not yet been transmitted, the flow of processing is returned to step S11, and the following processing is sequentially performed. When the transmission of the third retransmit cover page is successful, the memory management unit 77 executes a process of deleting the image data related to the retransmit cover page from the stored contents of the image memory 37 ( Step S13).

  The above is the flow of processing when a transmission error occurs during transmission of image data.

  Next, a facsimile communication procedure between the own device 10 and the partner device 73 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 6 shows a procedure for facsimile transmission of image data relating to a document (5 pages) from the own device 10 to the partner device 73. In FIG. 6, parenthesized numbers indicate sequence numbers.

(Procedure for facsimile transmission of image data)
When the image data relating to the document (page 5) is transmitted by facsimile from the own device 10 to the partner device 73, first, as shown in FIG. 6, a calling tone (CNG) is sent from the own device 10 to the partner device 73. Send it out. In response to this, the partner device 73 sends a called station identification signal (CED) (sequence number (hereinafter abbreviated as “sq”) 11), a non-standard function identification signal (NSF), and a called station. An identification signal (CSI) and a digital identification signal (DIS) are transmitted (sq12).

  Upon receiving these signals, own device 10 refers to the information related to the received signals, and retransmits when a retransmission request occurs (when image data transmission fails during image data transmission). It is determined whether or not a cover page should be added (sq13). In the following processing, processing according to this determination result is performed.

  Next, after transmitting the transmitting station identification signal (TSI) and the digital command signal (DCS) (sq14), the own device 10 transmits the training check signal (TCF) (sq15).

  Upon receiving the training check signal (TCF) from the own device 10 (sq15), the partner device 73 returns a reception preparation confirmation signal (CFR) (sq16).

  Upon receiving the reception preparation confirmation signal (CFR) from the counterpart device 73, the own device 10 sends image data (PIX) related to the document (sq17). In the normal process, the image data related to the document sent in sq17 is sent after the image data from the first page to the last page among the sent documents over a plurality of pages is sequentially read from the image memory 37. On the other hand, when a re-transmission request is generated, image data relating to a document stored in a predetermined storage area (so-called cache area) in the image memory 37 is sent out after being read from the cache area. become. The capacity of the cache area in the image memory 37 only needs to secure a capacity that can store at least one page of image data. In this case, the image data held in the cache area may be operated so as to be deleted (cleared) when transmission of image data for one page is confirmed.

  Next, after transmitting the image data (PIX) in sq17, the own device 10 transmits a partial page signal (PPS) / multi-page signal (MPS) (sq18).

  The partner apparatus 73 that has received the multi-page signal (MPS) returns a message confirmation signal (MCF) (sq19).

  When receiving the message confirmation signal (MCF), the own device 10 stores the image data (PIX) related to the document sent in sq17 in a predetermined storage area in the image memory 37 (sq20). Note that the storage process in sq20 can be omitted when image data related to retransmission is transmitted in sq17. This is because the predetermined storage area in the image memory 37 already stores image data relating to the document sent in sq17. Thereafter, the sequence of sq17 to sq19 is repeatedly executed until the image data transmission processing relating to the document of the last page is reached.

  In the image data transmission process related to the last page document, the own device 10 transmits image data (PIX) related to the last page document (sq21).

  Next, after sending the image data (PIX) relating to the original of the last page in sq21, the own device 10 sends a partial page signal (PPS) / procedure end signal (EOP) (sq22).

  The partner machine 73 that has received the procedure end signal (EOP) returns a message confirmation signal (MCF) (sq23).

  When receiving the message confirmation signal (MCF), the own device 10 sends a disconnection command signal (DCN) (sq24). As a result, a series of facsimile transmission processing ends, and the line is disconnected. Finally, the own device 10 performs a process of clearing all image data (PIX) related to the document stored in a predetermined storage area (so-called cache area) in the image memory 37. This is based on the fact that it is no longer necessary to store the image data relating to the document in the cache area of the image memory 37 after the series of facsimile transmission processing is completed.

[Effect of Example]
As described above, according to the facsimile apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the memory management unit 77 succeeds in the transmission when the success / failure determination unit 75 determines that the image data has been successfully transmitted. While executing the reduction process (including deletion or compression) related to the storage capacity of the image memory 37 for the image data related to the corresponding page, the retransmission cover sheet creation unit 79 uses the success / failure determination unit 75 to execute the image data When it is determined that the transmission of the image data has failed, the image data related to the page immediately before the page that has failed to be transmitted is read from the image memory 37, and the transmission source information in the read image data is related to the retransmission. By adding the notice information indicating that the first page will be transmitted from now on, image data related to the retransmission cover page is created, and in response to this, the communication processing unit 65 Therefore, even if a transmission error occurs during transmission of a document image over multiple pages, transmission is performed. On the side, the storage area of the image memory can be used effectively, while on the receiving side, the notice information indicating that the first page related to retransmission will be transmitted from now is sent on the page immediately before the corresponding page that failed to be transmitted. By visually recognizing the retransmission cover page added as the original information, the contents can be easily understood at a glance.

[Others]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit or technical idea of the invention that can be read from the claims and the entire specification, and a facsimile apparatus with such a change. Is also included in the scope of the technical scope of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an external view of an operation panel unit in the facsimile apparatus. FIG. 6 is an operation flowchart of the facsimile apparatus. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the facsimile transmission procedure from error generation to re-transmission. It is explanatory drawing of the resending cover sheet to which the notice information to the effect of transmitting the head page concerning resending from now on is added as sender information. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a procedure when facsimile image data relating to a document is sent from the own device to the other device.

Explanation of symbols

11 Main control unit 19 Facsimile controller 37 Image memory 65 Facsimile communication unit (communication processing means)
75 Success / failure determination unit (success / failure determination means)
77 Memory management unit (memory management means)
79 Retransmission cover page creation unit (Retransmission cover page creation means)

Claims (2)

A facsimile apparatus comprising a communication processing means for adding and transmitting transmission source information to all transmission documents over a plurality of pages between the own machine and a partner machine;
An image memory in which image data relating to a transmission document is stored;
Success / failure determination means for determining success / failure related to transmission of image data each time image data of each page is transmitted among a plurality of pages of transmission originals;
When the success / failure determination unit determines that the image data has been successfully transmitted, a reduction process for the storage capacity of the image memory is executed for the image data related to the page that has been successfully transmitted. Memory management means;
When the success / failure determination unit determines that the transmission of the image data has failed, the image data related to the page immediately before the corresponding page that has failed to be transmitted is read from the image memory, and the image data in the read image data is read. Retransmission cover page creation means for creating image data related to a retransmission cover page by adding notice information indicating that the first page related to retransmission will be transmitted from now on as sender information;
A facsimile apparatus comprising: The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1,
The memory management means includes
When the success / failure determination unit determines that the image data has been successfully transmitted, the image data related to the page that has been successfully transmitted is deleted from the stored contents of the image memory.
A facsimile machine characterized by the above.

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