JPH03109865A - Picture communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the operability by sending a voice corresponding to a character or a message to a telephone set after the input of one character each or the entire message is finished in the case of sending a message from a conventional telephone set to a picture communication equipment. CONSTITUTION:A picture communication equipment 3 is provided with a network control section 5, a tone signal detection section 6 detecting a tone signal being a DTMF signal, a voice synthesis section 7, a font data 8, a recording section 9 and a CPU 10 being a control section. After the input of one character each or the entire message is finished, the voice corresponding to the character or the message is sent to a telephone set 1. Thus, the own message is confirmed and the operability is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image communication device having an automatic reception function using a telephone line.

Conventional technology 2 Heno Conventionally, when a receiving station detects an incoming call, this type of device, represented by a facsimile machine, rings several times according to the time set by the user, and if the user does not hook off or turn on the monitor during this time, connects the line, sends a voice response, and begins the facsimile procedure. If the calling station does not have a facsimile function, it is determined that a timeout has occurred, the facsimile procedure is terminated, and the line is disconnected.

FIG. 6 is a signal sequence diagram of the 03 procedure when the partner station cannot be identified in accordance with the C0ITT recommendation T30. When the calling station dials and makes a call, the called station hears a ring tone and detects the incoming call.

If the called station is absent, after several rings, the called station's equipment automatically connects the line and sends out a voice response, then sends out the called station identification CED to begin facsimile communication. Enter Phase B procedures for The called station further sends an initial identification signal N
After transmitting 8F, O8I, DIS, if no response is received from the calling station by receiving command signals such as NSS, TSI, DO8, etc. even after 14 hours have elapsed, the initial identification signals NSF, 3 vane O8I, DI8 are sent. Send repeatedly. If no response is received even after T1 time has elapsed, a disconnection command DCN is sent to disconnect the line.

The problem with such conventional devices is that when the calling station is an ordinary telephone without facsimile IJ function, the called station transmits answer back tone signals such as called station identification and initial identification signals. However, the other party's regular telephone cannot detect this, so it is unclear what the situation is, and there is a problem that mutual communication is impossible. Also,
A similar problem occurs when the called station is a facsimile-only device that does not have a telephone function.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 63-269660 states that in a communication terminal device equipped with an automatic reception function, when a message is input from the telephone side using a push button number based on a predetermined character code, the device side A technique has been disclosed in which characters are generated in reverse from the DTMF signal of the pushbutton dial and recorded on paper. That is, after transmitting an answer back tone signal, when a DTMF signal is transmitted from the other party, a DTMF signal detection circuit detects the signal, and the DTMF' signal detected by this detection circuit is stored in a memory, and a specific A storage processing means for storing the DTMF signal in a memory as a character code when a DTMF signal with a number surrounded by the DTMF signals is detected;
A communication terminal device is disclosed that includes an output control means for causing a recording device to record and output information based on a TMF signal and characters based on a character code.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, according to such a configuration, when a telephone user operates a push button based on a predetermined character code, such a character code is not familiar to the general public. It seems that very few people memorize it, so
There is a problem that the operation becomes complicated. In such a case, the person dialing is likely to be familiar with the character code table, but since they are not familiar with it, it takes a long time, and they wonder if they have pressed the correct number or if the message has arrived correctly. The problem is that it is not possible to confirm whether

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and when a message is sent from an ordinary telephone without an image communication function to an image communication apparatus equipped with an automatic reception function,
An object of the present invention is to provide an excellent image communication device that allows easy dialing operations from a telephone.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides that when a message is dialed from the telephone side based on the character code, 1
After inputting each character and/or the entire message, the system transmits the voice corresponding to the characters and/or message to the telephone.

Effects of the present invention With the above-described configuration, when the person making the call dials while looking at the character code table, a voice is returned each time a character is input and/or after inputting the entire character. You can check your 6/\-7 messages, further improving operability.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the principle of an image communication apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a telephone, 2 is an exchange such as a telephone office, 3 is an image communication device, and 4 is a telephone line connecting these. The image communication device 3 includes a network control section 6, a tone signal detection section 6 that detects a tone signal that is a DTMF signal, a speech synthesis section 7, font data 8, a recording section 91, and an OPU 10 that is a control section.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a sheet of paper on which the message printed out by the recording section 9 is recorded.

FIG. 2 shows the image communication device 3 in more detail. The network control section 6 is of the MA type or AA type, which is connected to the telephone line 4 and has an automatic reception function. The tone signal detection section 6 is built into the modem 12. modem 12
modulates the image signal to be transmitted to be multiplied by the telephone line 4,
Both received signals are demodulated into an image signal before modulation. Reference numeral 13 denotes a compression/expansion 7 arc unit that compresses the image signal for transmission and expands it for reception, 14 a memory that temporarily stores the image signal for transmission and reception, and 15 photoelectrically reads the original to be transmitted. Reference numeral 16 denotes a reading section that converts into image signals, a mechanism control section that controls motors and the like within the device, and 17 a panel control section that includes key buttons and the like that give input instructions to the device.

The operation of the image communication apparatus configured as described above will be described below. First, to explain the normal image communication operation, at the time of transmission, an image signal obtained by scanning a document with the reading section 16 is temporarily stored in the memory 14, compressed by the compression/expansion section 13, and then transferred to the modem 12 and the network control section 6. It is sent to telephone line 4 via . Also, when receiving, the image signal taken in from the telephone line 4 via the network control section 6 and modem 12 is decompressed by the compression/decompression section 13, the restored image signal is temporarily stored in the memory 14, and then transferred to the recording section 9 on paper. to be recorded. These operations are totally controlled by the 0PU 10 and are operated by operation input from the panel control unit 1. Further, a telephone function section 18 is connected to the network control section 6, so that communication using a telephone can be performed in addition to the above-mentioned image communication.

Next, communication operations when the other party is called from an ordinary telephone without an image communication function and no one is present at the device will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, it is determined in step 21 whether or not there is an incoming call, and then in step 22 it is determined whether or not the hook-off has occurred.If the phone is hooked-off, that is, the handset is removed, the call is made in step 23, and the hook-off is not performed. That is, if the user is not home, the ringer will sound until the time set in step 24 ends, and if the timeout expires, the line will be connected and a voice response will be sent (step 25.2).
6). Next, it is determined in step 2A whether or not there is a tone signal, that is, a dial for transmitting a message from the telephone side. If there is, the message is accepted in step 28, and if not, the normal facsimile procedure is carried out. and sends the called station identification CBD (step 29.3
0).

Subsequently, after sending out the initial identification signals NSF, O8I, and DI8 (step 31), the presence or absence of the To9ben signal is detected again at step 32. If there is no tone signal,
It is determined in step 33 whether or not a response such as a reception command signal has been received, and if a response has been received, step 3
4, normal facsimile reception is performed. Detection of the tone signal is carried out during the above-mentioned 74 hours, and if there is no tone signal after 74 hours and no response is received after T1 time (step 36.36), a line disconnection signal is issued and the line is disconnected. (steps 37 and 38). When facsimile reception is completed, the line is similarly disconnected (step 39).

When the message is accepted in step 28, a corresponding character signal is generated from the tone signal using the font data 8 according to the format described later, and this is sent to the recording section 9.
Record it on paper and transmit it as a message.

At the same time, a voice signal is generated by the voice synthesizer 7 based on the tone signal string corresponding to one character in the message, and this is sent to the other party's telephone via the modem 12 and the network control section 5, and is converted into voice from the telephone. The output is 10-\. Also, even after the entire message has been accepted,
The audio of the entire message is sent to the other party's phone.

Next, the exchange of signals after message reception will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 6.

FIG. 4 shows the transmission and reception of tone signals and voice signals between the calling station, which is the other party's telephone, and the called station, which is the equipment side.

FIG. 6 shows a character conversion table 40 used when dialing a message from a calling station.

Character conversion table 40 includes 6Q for converting characters to numbers.
The sound chart is written, and the 46 characters "Aiueo...", voiced sound, half voiced sound, lowercase letters, spaces, and line feed instructions are written in 6 vertical lines and 1 horizontal line.
It is arranged in two digits, with each row numbered 1 to 6 and the digits numbered 1 to 11.00. In addition, when inputting characters, after pressing the # button, you are taught to press the number button of the corresponding character in the order of digit and line, and then press the # button again.If you press the # button twice, it will request to start and end. You can make a request, and if you press it three times, the finger 11 will read all registered characters.
It is stated that one character can be deleted by pressing the #, next, and # buttons in sequence. For example, if you want to input the word "Kyo", follow the 60-syllabary code and enter #22#.
, #o3#, #85#, and #13# in this order.

In the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, the voice response transmission in step 26 is, for example, "This telephone is connected to a facsimile. Please send after the beep." If you wish to receive a message, press the # button twice and after hearing the voice saying ``Your message will be accepted,'' enter the message by pressing the dial button according to the specified character conversion table. ”. Therefore, when the message request signal is detected in step 27, the called station sends a voice response such as "I accept the message," as shown in FIG. Messages are accepted by tone signals, and when a tone signal from, for example, the #11# button is detected, the voice "a" is synthesized from these signal sequences and sent to the calling station.

This operation is performed every time a character is input, and the calling station determines whether the input is correct or incorrect based on the returned voice, and if there is an error, it is corrected each time, and all messages are input. When finished, press the # button three times and the called station will send out the entire message in voice. After confirming this, the calling station presses the # button twice to request the end of the message, and the called station sends out a voice response such as "We have finished accepting the call." If the calling station wishes to continue the message, it presses the # button twice again and repeats the above operation. The called station receives #, # within a certain period of time.
If no tone signal from the button is detected, the line is disconnected, a message is printed out, and the series of operations ends.

In the above embodiment, the received message is printed out on paper, but the message may be displayed on a display device such as a liquid crystal display. Alternatively, the message may be stored once in a storage section within the device, and then output on paper or a display device when the absentee returns.

In addition, the voice response to the input message can be made one character at a time or the last entire sentence.

The present invention can be applied to facsimile machines other than the 03 machine and other devices having an image communication function.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above explanation, the present invention enables dialing and transmitting a message one character at a time to an image communication device equipped with an automatic reception function from an ordinary telephone without an image communication function. Or, after inputting the entire message, the characters and/or the voice corresponding to the message are sent to the phone, so the person inputting the message can check their own message while inputting, and the operation is easy. This has the effect of further improving accuracy and making it possible to transmit messages without errors.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a principle block diagram of an image communication device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an image communication device showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a character conversion table in an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a signal sequence diagram of a conventional image communication device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Telephone, 2...Switchboard, 3...Image communication device, 4...Telephone line, 5...Network control section, 6...Tone signal detection section, 7...Speech synthesis Part, 8... Font data, 9... Recording part, 10... CPU (control part)
, 11...paper, 12...modem, 13...compression/expansion section, 14...memory, 15...reading section, 16...
- Mechanism control unit, 17... Panel control unit, 18... Telephone function unit, 40... Character conversion table.

Claims (1)

[Claims] a network control unit equipped with an automatic reception function; a tone signal detection unit that detects a tone signal representing a specific character from a calling side;
font data for converting the tone signal detected by the tone signal detection section into a character signal based on a predetermined format; a display section or a recording section for displaying or recording the character signal as a character; and a display section or recording section for displaying or recording the character signal as a character; An image communication device comprising: a voice synthesis section that converts a detected tone signal into a voice signal; and a control section that transmits the synthesized voice signal to a calling party via the network control section.