JPH02283168A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To utilize a loadable storage medium and to attain sure transmission with a simple operation by providing a means inputting and outputting data information with an external storage medium. CONSTITUTION:A routine message such as a destination and a sender is stored in a memory card 104 in a form of information converted into a CG. A controller 102 checks the presence of loading of the card 104 and storage content and stores the result as a content to be sent at first to a transmission original in the case of the routine message into a picture memory 105. Then a scanner 100 is started to read a set transmission original and stored in the memory 105 through a coding/decoding circuit 109. Then the stored message and data are read and sent via a line control section 106. The message used repetitively for many number of times is stored in the card 104 in this way to allow sure facsimile transmission with a simple operation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a facsimile device, and more particularly to a facsimile device capable of transmitting data information stored in a removable storage medium.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, IC cards, particularly memory cards, have been used in facsimile devices for communication management such as communication charges, registration of other party's number, or as part of memory.

Also, examples of sending fixed-form messages include:
A sheet of paper with information printed in advance was used and some information was added to it before sending.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above conventional example, when sending a fixed-form message, it is necessary to always set printed paper, and adding some information to the paper is time-consuming and troublesome. there were. In addition, it was necessary to manage the printed paper.

The present invention was made to solve the above problems, and
It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile device that can reliably send data through simple operations using a removable storage medium.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a facsimile apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the facsimile device is capable of transmitting data information stored in a removable storage medium, and includes an input/output means for inputting and outputting data information to and from the external storage medium, and a and transmitting means for transmitting data information.

Preferably, the apparatus further includes editing means for editing data information inputted by the input/output means.

[Operation] According to this configuration, data information is inputted by the input/output means for inputting/outputting data information to/from the external storage medium, and the input data information is transmitted.

Preferably, the input data information is edited and transmitted.

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Description of Configuration (FIGS. 1 to 5)> FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a facsimile apparatus in this embodiment. In the figure, 100 is a scanner that optically reads a document to be transmitted, 101 is a printer that outputs received data or various data, 102 is a controller that controls the operation of the entire facsimile machine, and 103 is a controller that controls data registration or facsimile transmission operations. 104 is an IC card (memory card); 105 is an image memory that stores image data; 106 is a line control unit that transmits and receives data according to the control procedure of the connected communication line 107; 108 is an IC card An interface section 109 between the memory card (memory card) and the main body of the facsimile apparatus is an encoding/decoding circuit that compresses/expands image data.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the above-mentioned interface unit 108 in detail. In the figure, 200 is a status signal indicating whether or not the memory card 104 is installed and the type code, 201 is an address bus in the system bus, and 2
Similarly, 02 is a data bus, 203 is a control signal, and 2
04 is the output bus of the memory card 104, 205 is the output bus of the image memory 105, and 206 is the output bus 204 and 20.
Logic gate 2 that takes the logical sum of data output from 5;
07 Output of transmitted image data, 208 is image memory 105
A data bus 209 reads out the contents of the memory card 104 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example in which the above-mentioned memory card 104 is configured with a ROM, in which 3 (50 is an input buffer, 301 is a ROM that stores data obtained by converting image data into CG information, is an output buffer. Also, FIG. 4 shows that the ROM 301 shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the data contents of the memory card 104 in this embodiment. In the figure, 500 indicates an example of a fixed form message.

Description of operation> The facsimile machine in this embodiment with the above configuration has the following functions:
The operation when the above-mentioned memory card 104 is inserted and a document is transmitted will be described below.

In this embodiment, a fixed form message 500 as shown in FIG. 5 is stored in advance in the memory card 104 in the form of image data, so-called CG information. Specifically, the ROM 301 shown in FIG. 3 is composed of a mask ROM or the like.

Also, when converting the image message 500 to CG, the black/white image information is converted directly into "O/1" data, or into compressed data such as MH, MR, etc. used in normal facsimile. It depends on the system configuration.

In the case of a system configuration as shown in FIG.
Because of the method of writing to the image memory 105 through 09,
It is better to store the encoded data in the memory card 104.

First, the controller 102 checks whether the memory card 104 is mounted or not based on the status signal 200 shown in FIG. As a result, if the cart 104 is installed, the stored contents are read out via the data bus 209 and the contents are checked. If the read content is the fixed form message 1 shown in FIG. 5, the message 1 is determined to be the content to be sent first in the transmission document. Next, an address 201 corresponding to the address of the memory card 104 and a control signal 203 consisting of various timings for reading the stored data.
As a result, image data 204 is obtained as output. This data 204 is passed through logic gate 206 to
07 as image data. When all data transmission from the memory card 104 is completed, the scanner 1
Start up 00, read the set original to be sent,
Image memory 1, 05 through encoding/decoding circuit 109
Accumulate in.

Next, the data stored in the image memory 105 is read out in the same manner as in the case of the IC card 104, and sent to the OR circuit 207 through the OR circuit 206. The read data is then transmitted from the communication line 107 via the line control unit 106 according to the facsimile communication procedure. Needless to say, the destination number is specified in advance using the keys on the operation panel 103 before starting the facsimile, and it goes without saying that the network with the communication partner is configured through the line control section 106.

Although the above operation has been explained for the case where a fixed form message 1 in which all information is determined in advance is transmitted, the operation is not limited to this.

Explanation of Processing Procedure (FIG. 6) Next, the processing procedure for changing the destination and sender of the fixed form message in this embodiment will be explained below according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

As described above, in step 5600, it is checked based on the status signal 200 whether an IC card (memory card) is mounted, and if so, the stored data is read and the process advances to step 5601. This step S601. Then, whether or not to modify the read data is displayed on the LCD display section of the operation panel 103. As a result, if correction is required using keys on the operation panel 103 manually, etc., the process advances to step 5602, and the operation panel 103 determines whether or not to change the destination data.
03 on the LCD display section. If the destination data is to be changed manually using the keys described above, the process advances to step 5603 and the destination to be changed is input. The input data is then displayed on the LCD display as a new destination, and step 5
The process advances to 604. In this step 5604, similarly to the destination change processing described above, whether or not to change the sender is displayed on the LCD display section. As a result, if a change is to be made, the process advances to step 5605, and the new caller is similarly input using the keys on the operation panel 103.

Next, in step 5606, it is determined whether the other party's telephone number, etc. has been input, and if it has not been input, the change processing is ended. However, if the manual operation has already been completed, the process proceeds to step 5607, and the facsimile is placed in a state of waiting for activation, and the message "Start" is displayed.

When activated by a key or the like, a fixed message is sent in the manner described above. The corrected destination and caller information is then converted into CG and stored in the image memory 105. As shown in FIG. 7, the process here is a process of storing the corrected destination and caller information in the area 702 of the image memory 105 corresponding to the corrected destination and caller information 701 of the memory card 104. be. Next, the memory card 104 is read, and the area 70 where the address has been corrected is
When reaching 1, the address is switched to the image memory 105 side, and the corrected data 702 is read out and transmitted. This process makes it possible to send a fixed-form message modified to the desired data.

When storing data obtained by converting images into CG, the characteristics of the scanner, dirt on the original, etc. are completely ignored, so messages can be sent with image quality comparable to teletex for character transmission, and extra dirt, etc. can be treated as data. Since there is no loading, the amount of data is reduced and communication costs are low.
Can be sent quickly.

In addition, it is possible to send frequently used phrases, greetings, or simple messages depending on the user's industry just by inserting a memory card, so it can be used as a simple facsimile or multi-function telephone for sending messages without using a scanner at all. It also becomes possible to use it in various ways.

For example, when the other party is away, it is possible to attach a memory card and send a fixed message such as "Please call me later."

Furthermore, by creating a memory card with a simple conversation pattern or an illustration, it is possible to create a simple facsimile machine that does not require a scanner and has a fun function.

In this case, since the characters are not handwritten, a fairly inexpensive low-resolution printer can be used, and the price of the facsimile can be set at a low price.

Therefore, it becomes possible to develop new market needs that break the fixed concept that a scanner is necessary for a facsimile machine. Of course, it is also possible to add a scanner as an option, or add simple messages from a numeric keypad, etc. based on what has been described so far.

According to this embodiment, by storing a fixed form message that is used repeatedly in a memory card, which is a removable storage medium, it is possible to send a proper facsimile with a simple operation.

In this embodiment, a case has been described in which corrected data is stored on the image memory in the main body of the facsimile machine. You may. If you back up this RAM with a backup battery built into the memory card, if the person in charge changes without changing the affiliation of the other party, you can just make one correction, and the data will not be corrected at all from now on. It can be sent in the same way as message 1.

In addition, in this embodiment, the message is converted into a character and C
Although it was stored as G information, in the case of special content, for example, C
The types of fixed-form messages are limited, such as the difficulty of G conversion and the high cost due to the small number of mask ROMs to be made, which reduces the benefits of using them. Therefore, it is conceivable to configure a memory card mainly composed of RAM, and to register a manuscript or an image read by a scanner as a fixed message.

In this case, a possible method is to read the message to be registered with a scanner, store it in an image memory, and write it into a memory card attached to the main body using each of the signals 201 to 203. After that, just by inserting this card, there is no need to set paper for the cover, for example.

Furthermore, in this example, a method of replacing a fixed form message with a memory card has been explained, but the same applies to magnetic cards that record magnetically (floppy disks, etc.), optical cards and optical disks that record optically, as long as they can store data. effect can be obtained.

Furthermore, as an example of an IC card, we have explained a memory card without a CPU chip, but of course an IC card with a built-in CPU may also be used. Processing such as inserting fixed form data into the area is also possible.

The interface between the main body and the IC card is the IC
By incorporating a CPU and an I10 control chip into the card, a general R3232C serial interface can be used, and it can also be used as a normal ■/○.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably transmit data with a simple operation using a removable storage medium.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the facsimile machine in this embodiment, Figure 2 is a block diagram showing details of the interface section shown in Figure 1, and Figures 3 and 4 are the memory cards in this embodiment. Figure 5 is a diagram showing the messages stored in the memory card in this embodiment, Figure 6 is a flowchart that does not show the processing procedure in this embodiment, and Figure 7 is a flow chart in this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of a memory card and an image memory. In the figure, lOO...Scanner, 1.02...Controller, 103...Operation panel, 104...IC cart, 105...Image memory, 200...Status signal, 201...Address Signal, 202... Data signal, 203-... Control signal, 301 ・ROM, 40
0--RAM, 500--Standard message. Figure 2 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 7

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A facsimile device capable of transmitting data information stored in a removable storage medium, comprising an input/output means for inputting/outputting data information to/from the external storage medium, and input/output means using the input/output means. 1. A facsimile device comprising: a transmitting means for transmitting data information. (2) The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising editing means for editing data information inputted by said input/output means.