JPH01160162A - Communication time count system for facsimile communication - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To recognize accurate line operating time by outputting a detection signal when a telephone set or a picture communication mean is operated via a telephone line. CONSTITUTION:A changeover means 121 switches the connection between a telephone set 131 and a telephone line 115 for talking or the connection between a picture communication means 141 for picture information communication and the telephone line 115 and an operation detection means 111 is connected between the changeover means 121 and the telephone line 115. The operation detection means 111 detects that the telephone set 131 or the picture communication means 141 is operated via the telephone line 115 and outputs a detection signal 113. Then the time count by conversation is applied by recognizing the detection signal 113 representing the active state of the telephone set 131 via the line 115. Thus, the accurate line operating time is recognized.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] The purpose of this invention is to know the accurate line usage time regarding a communication time measurement method for facsimile communication when a telephone is used for conversation after or during communication as well as image information communication. , a telephone for making a call, an image communication means for communicating image information, a switching means for switching the connection between the telephone and the telephone line, or a connection between the image communication means and the telephone line, and between the switching means and the telephone line. and an operation detection means that is connected to the telephone line and detects that the telephone or the image communication means is in operation via the telephone line and outputs a detection signal.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a method for measuring communication time in facsimile communication, and more particularly to a method for measuring communication time in facsimile communication when a telephone is used for conversation after or during communication as well as image information communication.

[Conventional technology]

For example, known facsimile machines are capable of transmitting image information such as graphics and photographs over long distances using communication lines, so facsimile machines have become widely used in the modernization of office automation.

One of the functions of such a facsimile machine is a conversation reservation function. According to this conversation reservation function, it is possible to have a conversation with the destination after sending the image information, or to have a conversation with the sender while receiving the image information. This makes it possible to communicate the image information again after checking the communication status of the image information.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, in the conventional method described above, when communication of image information and conversation are mixed, the facsimile machine only measures and recognizes the communication time of image information, so it is difficult to use the line accurately. The problem was that it was impossible to tell the time.

In particular, even if only the communication time of image information is output as a management record, it does not match the actual line usage time, so charges cannot be calculated, or when image information is communicated with a conversation in between, Although it is a series of image information communication,
Since management records are output separately for the first image information communication and the second image information communication, there has been an inconvenience that the management records are complicated.

The present invention was created in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication time measuring method for facsimile communication that allows accurate line usage time to be known.

[Means for solving problems]

FIG. 1 is a principle block diagram of a communication time measuring system for facsimile communication according to the present invention.

In the figure, a telephone 131 is used for making calls.

Image communication means 141 communicates image information.

The switching means 121 connects the telephone 131 and the telephone line 115 or the image communication means 141 and the telephone line 115.
Switch the connection with.

The operation detection means 111 connects the switching means 121 and the telephone line 1.
15, and detects that the telephone 131 or the image communication means 141 is in operation via the telephone line 115, and outputs a detection signal 113.

Therefore, the overall configuration is such that the detection signal 113 is output when the telephone 131 or the image communication means 141 is operating via the telephone line 115.

[For production]

connection between the telephone m131 for making a call and the telephone line 115;
Alternatively, the switching means 121 switches the connection between the image communication means 141 for communicating image information and the telephone line 115.

Operation detection means 111 is connected between switching means 121 and telephone line 115. The motion detection means 111 detects that the telephone 1
31 or the image communication means 141 is in operation via the telephone line 115, and outputs a detection signal 113.

In the present invention, time measurement based on conversation is carried out using the telephone 13.
1 is operating via the telephone line 115, the accurate line usage time can be determined.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of an embodiment to which the facsimile communication communication time measuring method of the present invention is applied. Further, FIG. 3 shows a detailed configuration of the DC loop detection circuit.

(2) Correspondence between the embodiment and FIG. 1 Here, the correspondence between the embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 1 will be shown.

The operation detection means 111 corresponds to the DC loop detection circuit 211.

The detection signal 113 corresponds to a signal supplied from the network control section 210 to the control section 241.

Telephone line 115 corresponds to telephone line 215.

The switching means 121 includes a switching relay 221. Switching relay 223. Switching relay 225. This corresponds to the switching relay 227.

Telephone 131 corresponds to telephone 231.

The image communication means 141 includes a control section 2412 and an image processing section 24.
39 Image file section 245. Reading section 247, recording section 2
It corresponds to 49.

Examples of the present invention will be described below assuming that the correspondence relationship as described above exists.

2. In FIG. 2, facsimile device 200 and facsimile device 291 are connected via telephone line 215. In FIG.

The facsimile device 200 includes a control section 241 that controls the entire facsimile device 200, a reading section 247 that reads image information of a transmitted document, a recording section 249 that prints image information of a received document, and a reading section 247. It includes an image processing unit 243 that compresses read data and restores received compressed data, and an image file unit 245 that stores transmitted data and received data.

The facsimile device 200 also has a network control unit 210 that controls an external line, a line control unit 261 that controls the network control unit 210 for sending and receiving signals and image information, and a network control unit 261 that automatically sends and receives designated telephone numbers. automatic calling unit 265 that calls
, an operation panel 255 for inputting instructions and data by an operator, a telephone number storage section 263 for storing telephone number data of a called party, and a facsimile machine 2
Communication information storage unit 251 that stores communication results in 00
and a clock unit 253 for timing communication date and time and communication time.

The control unit 241 controls the operation panel 2551 communication information storage unit 2
51. Clock section 253. Telephone number storage section 2639 Image processing section 2432 Line control section 261° Automatic calling section 265.
It is connected to the network control unit 210. In addition, the image processing unit 2
43 is an image file section 245. Reading section 247. The recording section 2491 is connected to the line control section 261.

The network control unit 210 includes four switching relays 221, 223, 225, and 227 for switching between image information transmission/reception operations in the facsimile device 200 and call/output/call operations on the external telephone 231; A DC loop detection circuit 211 that detects a DC loop formed during operation via a line 215 is provided.

One side of the telephone line 215 (two-wire type) is connected to the movable contact side of the switching relay 221 via the DC loop detection circuit 211, and the other side of the telephone line 215 is connected to the switching relay 22.
It is connected to the movable contact side of No. 3. Further, the fixed contacts A sides of the switching relays 221 and 223 are connected to the line control unit 261, and the fixed contacts B sides of the switching relays 225 and 2 are connected to the line control unit 261.
It is connected to the movable contact side of 27.

Further, the fixed contact A sides of the switching relays 225 and 227 are connected to the automatic calling section 265, and the fixed contact B sides are connected to the telephone set 231.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed configuration of the DC loop detection circuit 211.

(a) connects the DC loop detection circuit 211 to the photocoupler 2
13 and a protection circuit 214. a photocoupler 213 for detecting current;
A protection circuit 214 consisting of a varistor and a resistor and branching current between the photocoupler 213 is connected in parallel, and these parallel circuits are connected to one side of the telephone line 215 and the movable contact side of the switching relay 221. Connect in series between.

Here, although FIG. 3(A) shows a circuit configuration for detecting the current flowing from the switching relay 221 to the telephone line 215, in addition, in parallel, the switching relay 22
A circuit for detecting the current flowing to the terminal 1 is also connected, and the configuration is such that it can detect current flowing in either direction.

When current flows through the photocoupler 213, the photocoupler 2
The photodiode in 13 emits light and turns on the phototransistor. The control unit 241 includes a photocoupler 213
It monitors the on/off state of the phototransistor inside and detects when current flows.

(b) is an embodiment in which the DC loop detection circuit 211 is configured using a highly sensitive current relay 216 and a capacitor 217. The coil section of the high-sensitivity current relay 216 that turns on and off the relay contacts according to the current and the capacitor 217 that corrects the frequency characteristics of the coil section of the high-sensitivity current relay 216 are connected in parallel, and Switching relay 2 between parallel circuit and one side of telephone line 215
It is connected in series with the movable contact side of 21.

When current flows through the coil portion of the high-sensitivity current relay 216, the movable contact is moved and the relay contact of the high-sensitivity current relay 216 is turned on. The control unit 241 monitors the on/off state of the relay contacts of the line control unit 261, and detects the flow of current.

(2) Operation of the Embodiment Next, the operation of the communication time measuring system for facsimile communication in the embodiment of the present invention described above will be explained.

FIG. 4 shows the procedure for detecting line usage time. (a) shows how to make a phone call while transmitting image information, and (b) shows how to make a phone call while receiving image information. In the figure, "rFAX operating status" refers to the facsimile machine 200.
shows the contents of the operation when a call or line connection is being made for communication with the facsimile machine 291.

Further, "operating state of relays 221, 223" and "operating state of relays 225, 227" indicate the states of switching relays 221, 223, 225, 227, respectively.

When this relay state is high, the movable contacts and fixed contact A of the switching relays 221, 223, 225, and 227 are connected. Further, the "detection signal" is a signal sent to the control unit 241 when a loop current is detected in the DC loop detection circuit 211, and a high state corresponds to a detection operation.

Now, from facsimile machine 200 to facsimile machine 2
Consider a case where a call is made to 91, a line is connected, image information is transmitted, and image information transmission is resumed after a subsequent call.

Hereinafter, reference will be made to FIGS. 2 to 4.

First, facsimile machine 200 and facsimile machine 29
1. Make a line connection with 1. After confirming that the transmission document is set, the control unit 241 switches the operation panel 2
55 is read out from the telephone number storage section 263 and sent to the automatic calling section 265. Also,
The control unit 241 is a switching relay 22 in the network control unit 210.
5. Connect the movable contact of 227 to fixed contact B (telephone 231 side)
to fixed contact A (on the automatic calling unit 265 side), and the automatic calling unit 265 calls the destination phone number in sequence.
A line connection is made to the facsimile machine 291.

Here, when the switching relays 225 and 227 are switched from the telephone 231 side to the automatic calling section 265 when making a call, a DC loop (exchange (not shown) The operating current supplied from the telephone line 215, the network control unit 210, and the automatic transmission unit 2
A current loop is formed which is sent back to the exchange via 65. Then, the detection portion of the DC loop detection circuit 211 in the network control section 210 (the phototransistor of the photocoupler 213 or the contact relay of the high-sensitivity current relay 216) is turned on, and a detection signal is notified to the control section 241. The loop detection signal at this time is used to check whether a correct loop with the exchange is established during automatic call origination. Therefore, the control unit 241 does not measure the elapsed time in the calling state.

Next, when the calling operation is completed, the control unit 241 switches the movable contacts of the switching relays 221 and 223 in the network control unit 210 from the fixed contact B to the fixed contact A, and the line control unit 261
A telephone line 215 is connected to. Switching relay 221.2
23 to the line control unit 261, the control unit 241
checks the detection signal from the DC loop detection circuit 211, and if the signal is on, starts measuring the communication (transmission) time of the image information. For example, when the control unit 241 recognizes the formation of a loop, it sends a time measurement instruction to the clock unit 253, and the clock unit 253 measures the elapsed time of communication (transmission) based on the instruction.

Next, under the control of the control section 241, the reading section 247 reads the image information of the set transmission document, the image processing section 243 compresses the image information, and the line control section 261... The facsimile machine 2 via the network control unit 210
Send to 91 side.

Here, when the operator of the facsimile machine 291 receives up to 5 pages of the image information communication manuscript consisting of 10 pages while receiving the image information described above, the operator of the facsimile machine 291 uses the conversation reservation function to have a conversation with the operator of the facsimile machine 200. shall be carried out.

When the line control unit 261 in the facsimile machine 200 receives the conversation reservation signal from the facsimile machine 291, it notifies the control unit 241 that there is a request for conversation reservation.

In response to this instruction, after transmitting the image information of the fifth page, the control section 241 interrupts the transmitting operation and sounds a ringing tone to the operator.

The control unit 241 receives an instruction from the operation panel 255 to receive a conversation from the operator, and sends a switching instruction to the switching relays 221 and 223 of the network control unit 210.

The switching relays 221 and 223 switch the connection of the movable contacts from the fixed contact A side to the fixed contact B side in response to a switching instruction from the control unit 241. At this time, the switching relay 22
No. 5,227 is switched from the automatic calling section 265 side to the telephone m231 side according to an instruction from the control section 241 after the control section 241 switches the switching relay 22223 to the line control section 263 at the end of the calling operation.

As a result, from now on, the telephone line 2
15 and the telephone 231 are connected, and the facsimile device 2
The operator of 00 uses the telephone 231, and the operator of the facsimile machine 291 (using the telephone 293)
You can have a conversation with.

Also, at this time, the control unit 241 checks that the loop detection signal from the network control unit 2 O is in the on state, and
If it is in the on state, an instruction is sent to the clock unit 253, and the clock unit 253 starts measuring the conversation time. Note that the time until the image information transmission is interrupted is stored in the communication information storage section 251.

Next, when the conversation between the two operators ends, the operator of the facsimile machine 200 inputs an instruction to restart image information transmission from the operation panel 255.

Upon receiving the instruction, control section 241 sends a switching instruction to switching relay 221 and switching relay 223 of network control section 210 . The switching relay 221 and the switching relay 223 switch the connection of the movable contact from the fixed contact B side to the fixed contact A side in response to a switching instruction. Thereafter, the telephone line 215 and the line control section 261 are connected via the network control section 210, and image information transmission is resumed.

At this time, the control unit 241 confirms the on state of the loop detection signal from the network control unit 210, and then the clock unit 241
53, and the clock unit 253 starts counting the restarted image information transmission time.

The conversation time is stored in the communication information storage section 251.

When the transmission of the image information from the facsimile device 200 to the facsimile device 291 is completed, the network control unit 210 disconnects the line with the facsimile device 291 and ends the communication.

Next, the control unit 241 sends an instruction to the clock unit 253,
The clock unit 253 finishes counting the communication time. The resumed image information transmission time is stored in the communication information storage section 251.

Next, the control unit 241 reads out the time measurement result in the clock unit 253 from the communication information storage unit 251, and
49 outputs the timing results (for example, first transmission time, conversation time, second transmission time, and line usage time) together with the communication destination and communication start date and time.

In addition, in order to record the above-mentioned timing results in the communication management record, the control unit 241 also records the communication destination, the communication start date and time, and the total line usage time (first transmission time, conversation time, second transmission time). It is stored in the communication information storage section 251.

In this way, the DC loop detection circuit 2 in the network control unit 210
11 detects a loop current during a communication operation (image information transmission/reception operation) in the facsimile device 200 or during a conversation using the telephone 231 and connects the photocoupler 213 to the photocoupler 213.
phototransistor or high-sensitivity current relay 216
Turn on the relay contact. The control unit 241 detects the on state and measures the image information communication time or the conversation time.

Therefore, it is possible to measure the operating time via the telephone line 215 and know the exact line usage time.

In addition, the detailed operation contents (communication time and It is also possible to know the breakdown of conversation time.

Furthermore, if only the line usage time is obtained as the communication management record, the actual line usage time and the communication time recorded in the communication management record will match, and the communication time for each image information communication in the conventional method will be reduced. It is simpler and easier to understand than displaying it.

■Multiple forms of zero shots In the embodiment of the present invention described above, a case was considered in which a conversation was held between the transmission of image information from the facsimile device 200 to the facsimile device 291; The same applies when having a conversation while receiving information.

In addition, in the embodiment, a case was considered in which the image information of the set original is read from the reading unit 247 and transmitted. A similar approach can be taken when reserving a conversation.

Furthermore, in ``correspondence between examples and FIG. 1'',
Although the correspondence between the present invention and the embodiments has been described, those skilled in the art will easily assume that the present invention is not limited to this and that there are various modifications.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, by outputting a detection signal when a telephone or image communication means is operating via a telephone line, it is possible to know the exact line usage time, which is useful for practical use. It is extremely useful.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the principle of the facsimile communication communication time measurement method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment that uses the facsimile communication communication time measurement method of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the embodiment. A detailed configuration diagram of the DC loop detection circuit, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of line usage time detection in the embodiment. In the figure, 111 is a motion detection means, 113 is a detection signal, 115 is a telephone line, 121 is a switching means, 131 is a telephone, 141 is an image communication means, 200, 291 is a facsimile device, 210 is a network control unit, 211 is a DC Loop detection circuit, 213 is a photocoupler, 214 is a protection circuit, 215 is a telephone line, 216 is a high-sensitivity current relay, 217 is a capacitor, 221.223, 225.227 is a switching relay, 23
1 is a telephone, 241 is a control unit, 243 is an image processing unit, 245 is an image file unit, 247 is a reading unit, 249 is a recording unit, 251 is a communication information storage unit, 253 is a clock unit, 255 is an operation panel, 261 is a 263 is a telephone number storage unit, and 265 is an automatic calling unit. The book was written in August 0R, 1st drawing) L-F0J and 3, and a bribe was given to the 1st season of the 11th episode (2)
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Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A telephone (131) for making calls, an image communication means (141) for communicating image information, and a connection between the telephone (131) and a telephone line (115).
Alternatively, the image communication means (141) and the telephone line (
115); and a switching means (121) connected between the switching means (121) and the telephone line (115), the telephone set (131) or the image communication means (141) A communication time measuring system for facsimile communication characterized by comprising: an operation detection means (111) that detects that the operation is in progress via a line (115) and outputs a detection signal (113); .