JP5180937B2 - Facsimile machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus that transmits and receives data by facsimile (FAX) communication.

In a facsimile apparatus, normally, data received by FAX is temporarily stored in a memory, and is automatically output after completion of reception and then deleted.
However, if data from a large number of unspecified parties is received and automatically output as described above, even unnecessary data such as data transmitted by mistake will be printed after reception, and the recording paper will be There is a problem of consuming wastefully.

On the other hand, in the facsimile apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the data received by FAX is temporarily stored in a memory, and the stored data, the transmission source information of the data, etc. are displayed on the display unit to determine whether the data is necessary data. By making the user confirm this, and if necessary, the data is printed in accordance with an instruction from the user, thereby preventing wasteful consumption of the recording paper.
Further, in the facsimile apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, data is received and printed out only when the recognition number received from the partner apparatus matches a recognition signal that permits reception in advance. The received data is prevented from being received and printed, and wasteful consumption of resources is suppressed.

JP-A-4-123656 JP-A-4-123664

  However, in the case of the facsimile apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, in other words, the data received by FAX is temporarily stored in a memory, the data content is displayed and checked by the user, and then the data is deleted after print output is completed according to the user operation. When deleting without printing, the data is sequentially stored in the memory unless the user confirms the data. As a result, the memory becomes full and necessary data cannot be received.

  In addition, in the case of suppressing wasteful consumption of recording paper by automatically receiving and printing out data only from a partner who permits reception that has been registered in advance as in the facsimile apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, the received data is printed. If it is deleted after output, the above-mentioned memory problem does not occur, but no data can be received from anyone other than the party that automatically prints out. It is preferable that FAX transmission can be received and printing output can be made from a sender who is not the other party that automatically prints out, depending on the contents of the data.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and it is possible to suppress wasteful use of recording paper and a memory for storing data, and also to transmit data from other than a specific partner that does not automatically print out. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus capable of confirming contents and printing out in accordance with the requirements.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the first technical means of the present invention is a facsimile apparatus, and at the time of facsimile reception, an image storage unit for temporarily storing all received data and specific destination information are stored. A destination information storage unit, and confirmation means for confirming the data held in the image storage unit by a user operation. When the facsimile is received, the acquired source information is the specific destination information. The received data is printed out and deleted from the image storage unit, and if stored, the received data is continuously held in the image storage unit, and the confirmation means After the confirmation, the data can be deleted from the image storage unit.

  According to a second technical means of the present invention, in the first technical means, the confirmation means is a preview display means.

  According to a third technical means of the present invention, in the first or second technical means, a reception time storage unit that stores a reception time of data held in the image storage unit, and a free capacity of the image storage unit A threshold storage unit that stores a threshold, and when the free space of the image storage unit becomes smaller than the threshold, the transmission source is the specific destination information until the free space becomes larger than the threshold. As described above, data having the earliest reception time stored as is deleted from the image storage unit in order.

  According to a fourth technical means of the present invention, in the first or second technical means, the image storage unit has a threshold storage unit that stores a threshold of a free space, and the free space of the image storage unit is greater than the threshold. When the number is reduced, the display unit displays a message prompting the user to confirm the contents of the image data held in the image storage unit using the confirmation unit and to delete unnecessary image data. It is.

  According to a fifth technical means of the present invention, in the first or second technical means, there is provided a transmission source information storage unit for storing transmission source information of data held in the image storage unit, and at the time of facsimile reception. When the acquired transmission source information is stored as the specific destination information, when the transmission source information is already stored in the transmission source information storage unit, it is held in the image storage unit. The older data related to the transmission source information is deleted.

  According to the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, FAX data from a pre-registered non-specific partner is printed out without being stored in the memory, and data from the specific partner is stored and held in the memory. Therefore, wasteful use of recording paper and memory can be suppressed, and data from the specific partner can be printed out as necessary.

1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the image confirmation function with which the facsimile apparatus of FIG. 1 is provided. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an example of processing at the time of FAX reception of the facsimile apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows an example of the display screen of the facsimile apparatus of FIG. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structural example of the facsimile apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an example of processing at the time of FAX reception of the facsimile apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration example of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The facsimile apparatus 1 shown in the figure transmits the read image data to the other party designated by the user via the telephone line network P, and receives the image data transmitted from the caller via the telephone line network P. Printed on recording paper, control unit 2, network control unit 3, modem 4, image memory 5, program memory 6, management information memory 7, operation display unit 8, document reading unit 9, printing unit 10, code / A decoding unit 11 and a communication control unit 12 are provided. In the following, since the present invention relates to the reception function of the facsimile apparatus 1, the operation related to the reception function of each component will be mainly described, and the description regarding the operation related to the transmission function will be omitted as appropriate.

  The control unit 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, and controls the entire apparatus 1. The network control unit 3 performs network control such as transmission of dial signals and FAX signals to the telephone line network P. The modem 4 performs modulation / demodulation of a signal to perform image data FAX communication, and converts the image data received by FAX into a digital signal so that the apparatus 1 can process the image data.

The image memory 5 corresponds to the “image storage unit” of the present invention, and is composed of, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory), and stores image data received by FAX. As will be described later, in the facsimile apparatus 1, all received image data is temporarily stored in the image memory 5, and the image data other than a specific transmission source is automatically printed out after reception. The printed image data is erased from the image memory 5 and is not stored in the memory 5. Also, image data from a specific transmission source is not automatically printed out after reception. Instead, the image data is stored and stored in the image memory 5 so that the user can determine whether or not to confirm the content of the data using a later-described image confirmation function (an example of the “confirmation means” of the present invention).
The program memory 6 is composed of a ROM (Read Only Memory), for example, and stores a program for controlling the entire facsimile apparatus 1.

  The management information memory 7 is composed of, for example, a non-volatile RAM, and stores information on a specific partner device (for example, a call number) that should be stored in the image memory 5 without automatically printing out data when receiving a fax. It has a destination information storage unit 7a for storing. Registration of the partner information in the partner information storage unit 7a is performed in advance by the user via the operation unit of the operation display unit 8. The other threshold storage unit 7b and reception history storage unit 7c that the management information memory 7 has will be described later.

  The operation display unit 8 includes a display unit configured by a liquid crystal display device or the like for displaying the received image data to confirm the contents, various operation keys that accept input from the user, switches, and the like. And an operation unit. The document reading unit 9 reads image data of a document set on a document table (not shown), and the printing unit 10 prints image data received by FAX on recording paper. The encoding / decoding unit 11 decodes the received image data, and the communication control unit 12 performs control during the FAX communication procedure.

  The facsimile apparatus 1 includes the above-described components, and further includes an image confirmation function that allows the user to confirm the contents of the image data received by FAX display on the operation display unit 8. A specific example of the image confirmation function will be described later.

This facsimile apparatus 1 has the following features.
In the facsimile apparatus 1, when receiving a fax, the control unit 2 obtains a calling number of a transmission source included in a TSI (Transmitting Subscriber Identification) signal transmitted from the transmission source when, for example, a line with the transmission source is opened. To do.

If the acquired calling number of the transmission source is not stored in the destination information storage unit 7a, the image data (image) received by FAX and stored in the image memory 5 is placed on the recording paper by the printing unit 10. After printing out, the output image data is deleted from the image memory 5.
On the other hand, if the acquired call number of the transmission source is stored in the other party information storage unit 7a, the image data received by FAX and stored in the image memory 5 is not automatically printed out, and the image memory It is accumulated without deleting from 5. The image data accumulated without being printed out automatically is displayed on the display section of the operation display section 8 when the user performs an operation for confirming the contents using the image confirmation function at an arbitrary timing. To display. Thereafter, according to the user's decision operation whether or not to print out the image data based on the display content, the image data is printed out and the image data is deleted from the image memory 5 or deleted without printing out.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of the image confirmation function provided in the facsimile apparatus 1 of FIG. In the facsimile apparatus 1, when the image data received by FAX is stored in the image memory 5, for example, a screen X1 as shown in FIG. To confirm the image data. The screen X1 displays a message X11 indicating whether or not the image data is to be confirmed and an operation button X12 for instructing confirmation of the image data.

  When it is determined that the user confirms the image data and the operation button X12 is operated, the facsimile apparatus 1 displays a screen X2 as shown in FIG. 2B on the display unit. The screen X2 includes a list X21 of image data stored in the image memory 5, an operation button X22 for instructing display on the display unit of the image data selected in the list X21, and the selected image. An operation button X23 for instructing deletion of data from the image memory 5 is displayed. Note that the screen X2 in FIG. 2B is a screen in a state where the image data having the transmission number “074313456” is selected from the image data in the list X21.

  When the user operates the operation button X22 on the screen X2 in the state of FIG. 2B, the facsimile apparatus 1 displays a screen X3 as shown in FIG. 2C on the display unit. On the screen X3, an image X31 in which the image data with the transmission number “074312456” selected on the screen X2 in FIG. 2B is displayed as a preview, and an operation button X32 for instructing printout of the image data are displayed. An operation button X33 for instructing to return to the previous operation screen is displayed.

  By performing such display, the user can print out or delete from the image memory 5 after confirming the content of the image data by viewing the image X31 on the screen X3. When the user deletes the image data from the image memory 5 without printing, when the operation button X33 is operated, a screen similar to the screen X2 in FIG. 2B is displayed. What is necessary is just to operate X23. In the present invention, the form of preview display processing for confirming the content of image data is arbitrary. For example, the image data received by FAX may be processed to display a thumbnail image as an image X31. A more detailed image may be displayed. Note that only bibliographic items such as the reception time may be displayed instead of the actual image.

  As described above, the facsimile machine 1 performs all FAX reception regardless of the transmission source, temporarily stores the received image data in the image memory 5, and does not bother to confirm the received content (transmission destination information). The received data from the other party (not stored in the storage unit 7a) is automatically printed out and deleted from the image memory 5. Then, the image data from a specific transmission source (the other party stored in the other party information storage unit 7a) is stored in the image memory 5 without being deleted for the time being. In this way, wasteful use of recording paper can be suppressed, the occurrence of memory fullness can be prevented, and data from other than the other party that automatically outputs image data when receiving a fax is also needed as needed. Can be printed out.

Even when the operation is performed as described above, if the image is not confirmed for a predetermined time or more, memory full may occur. In order to avoid this, the threshold storage unit 7b that stores the threshold of the free space of the image memory 5 and the image data from a specific transmission source are automatically stored in the image memory 5 without being printed out. There is a reception history storage unit (an example of the “reception time storage unit” of the present invention) 7c that stores the reception time of data.
With these storage units 7b and 7c, in the facsimile apparatus 1, when image data received by FAX is stored in the image memory 5, the reception history when the free capacity of the memory 5 is smaller than the threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 7b. With reference to the storage unit 7c, the image data from a specific transmission source is deleted in order from the image memory 5 until the free space of the image memory 5 exceeds the threshold value in order from the data having the oldest reception time. Note that image data from a source other than a specific transmission source is also stored in the image memory 5 when the print output cannot be completed due to a recording paper shortage or the like. Data to be deleted from 5 is only image data from a specific transmission source.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining an example of processing at the time of FAX reception of the facsimile apparatus 1 of FIG.
In the facsimile apparatus 1, when the control unit 2 detects the call signal, the control unit 2 receives the call, starts FAX communication, and acquires the call number of the transmission source (step S1). Image data received from the transmission source during communication is temporarily stored in the image memory 5 (step S2). After receiving all the image data, the remaining FAX communication processing is performed to disconnect the line (step S3).
Subsequently, the control unit 2 stores whether or not the transmission source in this communication is registered as a transmission source that does not automatically print out the received image data without confirming the contents, and the caller number of the transmission source stores the destination information. The determination is made based on whether or not it is stored in the unit 7a (step S4).

  When the calling number or the like of the transmission source is not stored in the counterpart information storage unit 7a (in the case of NO), the control unit 2 prints the image data stored in the image memory 5 on the recording paper by the printing unit 10. The output process is started (step S5). Then, it is determined whether or not a problem has occurred before the print output process is completed (step S6). If the print output process is completed without any problem (in the case of YES), the output from the image memory 5 is completed. The image data is deleted (step S7), and the process ends. In step S6, when a problem such as running out of paper occurs and the print output process cannot be completed (in the case of YES), the process ends and the received image data is accumulated and held.

  On the other hand, when the caller number of the transmission source is stored in the other party information storage unit 7a in step S4 (in the case of YES), the control unit 2 performs the image confirmation function without printing out the received image data. The image data is stored in the image memory 5 as a target, and the reception time of the image data is stored (registered) in the reception history storage unit 7c (step S8), and the process proceeds to step S9. This storage is performed so that the image data stored in the image memory 5 can be identified by this reception time.

  In step S9, the control unit 2 determines whether or not the free space of the image memory 5 is equal to or less than the threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 7b. If it is not equal to or less than the threshold value (in the case of NO), the process ends. If it is equal to or less than the threshold value (in the case of YES), the reception history storage unit 7c is referred to and the reception date / time is selected from the image data stored in the image memory 5. The image data from the specific transmission source having the oldest is extracted (step S10). Then, the extracted data is deleted from the image memory 5, and information on the reception date and time of the image data is also deleted from the reception history storage unit 7c (step S11). The processing in step S10 and step S11 is repeated until the free space in the image memory 5 becomes equal to or smaller than the threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 7b in step S9.

  In the above example, when the free space of the image memory 5 is smaller than the threshold value stored in the threshold value storage unit 7b, the image data from the oldest specific transmission source is automatically deleted from the image memory 5. Instead of this automatic deletion, for example, a screen X4 showing a message X41 prompting confirmation of the image data as shown in FIG. 4 may be displayed on the display unit.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram showing a configuration example of a facsimile apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. Of the constituent parts of the facsimile apparatus of the present embodiment, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  As with the facsimile apparatus 1 of FIG. 1, the facsimile apparatus 20 in FIG. 5 performs all reception regardless of the transmission source when receiving a fax, temporarily stores the received image data in the image memory 5, and purposely confirms the received contents. Received data from a transmission source that does not need to be transmitted (a partner not stored in the partner information storage unit 7 a) is automatically printed out and deleted from the image memory 5. Then, image data from a specific destination (a partner stored in the partner information storage unit 7a) is accumulated and held in the image memory 5. On the other hand, the facsimile apparatus 20 of FIG. 5 replaces the management information memory 7 including the threshold storage unit 7b and the reception history storage unit 7c of the facsimile apparatus 1 of FIG. The management information memory 21 includes a reception history storage unit (an example of the “transmission source information storage unit” of the present invention) 21 a that stores the reception time and call number of image data stored in the memory 5.

  With this reception history storage unit 21a, the facsimile apparatus 20 refers to the reception history storage unit 21a when the FAX-received image data is stored in the image memory 5 based on the control by the control unit 2, and already has the same transmission source. Is received in the image memory 5, the latest image data is stored, and the old image data is automatically deleted. Thereby, occurrence of memory full can be prevented.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of processing at the time of FAX reception of the facsimile machine 20 of FIG. In addition, about the process similar to the example of FIG. 3, the description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same step number.
In step S4 after the FAX reception process is completed, the facsimile machine 20 stores the caller number of the transmission source in the destination information storage unit 7a (in the case of YES), the control unit 22 receives the image data received by FAX. Is stored in the image memory 5 as a target of the image confirmation function without printing out, and the reception time of the image data and the calling number of the transmission source are stored (registered) in the reception history storage unit 21a (step S21). The process proceeds to step S22. This storage is performed so that the image data stored in the image memory 5 can be identified by the reception time and the call number.

  In step S22, the control unit 22 determines whether or not there is image data having the same specific transmission source, and the same transmission source (call number) is stored in the reception history storage unit 21a. Based on whether or not. If it is not stored (in the case of NO), the process is terminated, and if it is stored (in the case of YES), image data with earlier reception time among image data from the transmission source stored in the image memory 5 (Old image data) is extracted with reference to the reception history storage unit 21a, deleted from the image memory 5, and the process ends (step S23).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,20 ... Facsimile apparatus, 2 ... Control part, 3 ... Network control part, 4 ... Modem, 5 ... Image memory, 6 ... Program memory, 7 ... Management information memory, 7a ... Counterpart information storage part, 7b ... Threshold storage , 7c: Reception history storage unit, 8: Operation display unit, 9: Document reading unit, 10: Printing unit, 11: Encoding / decoding unit, 12: Communication control unit, 21: Management information memory, 21a: Reception history storage Unit, 22... Control unit.

Claims (5)

An image storage unit for temporarily storing all received data at the time of facsimile reception;
A destination information storage unit for storing specific destination information;
Confirmation means for confirming data held in the image storage unit by a user operation,
When receiving the facsimile, if the acquired transmission source information is not stored as the specific destination information, the received data is printed out and deleted from the image storage unit. A facsimile apparatus characterized in that the received data is continuously held in the image storage unit, and the data can be deleted from the image storage unit after confirmation by the confirmation unit.   The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the confirmation unit is a preview display unit. A reception time storage unit that stores a reception time of data held in the image storage unit, and a threshold storage unit that stores a threshold of a free capacity of the image storage unit,
When the free space of the image storage unit becomes smaller than the threshold value, the data with the earliest reception time stored as the specific destination is stored as the transmission source until the free space becomes larger than the threshold value. 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the facsimile apparatus is deleted from the image storage unit in order. A threshold storage unit that stores a threshold of the free space of the image storage unit;
When the free space of the image storage unit becomes smaller than the threshold value, a message prompting the user to confirm the contents of the image data held in the image storage unit using the confirmation unit and to delete unnecessary image data. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the facsimile apparatus is displayed on a display unit. A transmission source information storage unit for storing transmission source information of data held in the image storage unit;
When the acquired transmission source information is stored as the specific destination information at the time of facsimile reception, if the transmission source information is already stored in the transmission source information storage unit, the image storage unit 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the older data relating to the transmission source information held in the data is deleted.

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