JPH03117168A - Picture transmitter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To cope with an interrupt by the operator with very simple operation only such as replacement of a picture information storage means even when the interrupt by the other operator takes place on the way of awaiting retransmission by storing information specifying a destination in the information storage means. CONSTITUTION:When recording paper is in shortage at a receiver side, a comparatively long time might be required till the recording paper of the receiver equipment is supplemented (or replaced). In this case, the same operator monopolies the transmitter for a long time at the sender side and when other transmission is desired urgently, it is required for the other operator by placing interrupt to connect the line to a different telephone number for the communication. However, under such circumstance, such a simple operation as replacement of a memory cad 100 is enough for the purpose. After the memory card subjected to interrupt processing is removed, the preceding memory card is again loaded and the transmission switch is turned on, the telephone number of the destination stored in the memory card is dialed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image transmitting device such as a facsimile machine.

[Prior Art] In a general facsimile machine, while reading a document image using an image scanner, the read image information is compressed and immediately sent to a communication line.

In addition, recent high-performance facsimile machines have built-in external storage devices such as large-capacity semiconductor memory or hard disks, which temporarily store image information of originals scanned by an image scanner in memory. It has a function that allows the above image information to be automatically transmitted unattended at a pre-specified time, and to re-execute the transmission process unattended using a redial function when the destination is busy.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, the dialing function provided in facsimile machines, etc. temporarily stores the number of the last dialed party in a redial-only memory and reconnects with the other party. Sometimes, the most recently dialed number stored in the memory is automatically regarded as the designated destination and the transmission is performed.

However, if, for example, the destination facsimile machine runs out of recording paper and the line is disconnected, it may take a long time before communication can be resumed.

However, if there are many users of the local facsimile, one operator cannot have exclusive use of the machine for a long time, so when the line is disconnected,
It is more efficient if the next operator performs the transmission using an interrupt. However, when transmitting by interrupt, the destination changes, so the contents of the redial memory are updated, and when the first operator retransmits, he has to redo the dialing specification from the beginning, which is a cumbersome operation. .

The present invention simplifies operator operations when retransmission is necessary, such as when the transmission destination is busy or there is a chart paper error, and especially when another operator interrupts transmission while waiting for retransmission. The goal is to make the retransmission operation easy even if there is a problem.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes: an image transmitting means for transmitting information via a predetermined communication line; an image information generating means; configured to be detachably attached to the main body of the apparatus. an image information storage means that is capable of reading and writing information; and, in a write mode, image information generated by the image information generation means;
4- writes identification information for specifying a transmission destination into the image information storage means, and in a transmission mode reads out the contents of the image information storage means and sends the image transmission means to the transmission destination specified by the identification information. a control means for transmitting image information via the communication terminal and, when detecting an interruption in transmission, automatically reconnecting a communication line to the destination specified by the identification information and re-executing the transmission operation; will be established.

[Function] In the present invention, an image of a document to be transmitted is stored in advance in an image information storage means (for example, an IC memory card) that is detachably attached to the main body of the apparatus. Identification information (for example, a facsimile line number) for specifying the information is also stored.

Therefore, each image information storage means stores the image information to be sent and information on the destination, so the destination can be specified simply by installing the image information storage into the main body of the device. This essentially eliminates the need for operator dial operations. If the recording paper on the other party's side (receiving side) runs out during transmission and the line is disconnected, redialing is automatically performed based on the identification information on the image information storage means and retransmission is executed. Even if another operator interrupts to send data during the retransmission waiting time, the information stored in the image information storage means will not be updated, so once the interrupt operation is finished, redialing will continue. The function works,
A retransmission is performed. Furthermore, even if the interrupt operator performs interrupt transmission by replacing the image information storage means, if the image information storage means is replaced with the first one after the transmission is completed, retransmission can be performed with a simple operation. Operation can be resumed.

By the way, for example, if the line is interrupted because the receiving side runs out of recording paper while sending multiple pages of images, resending all the pages of the stored images is a good idea if the transmission has already been successful. Since the image of the page is also sent, there is a lot of waste. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention to be described later, each time the transmission of an individual page is completed, information indicating the completion of transmission is written in the area allocated to that page on the image information storage means, and the transmission is interrupted. If this is detected, when re-executing the transmission operation, reference is made to the presence or absence of the information indicating the completion of transmission, and transmission is resumed from the top position of the page where transmission was interrupted.

According to this, even if transmission is interrupted, pages that have been successfully transmitted are not repeatedly transmitted, so there is no waste and communication time can be saved.

[Example] FIG. 1 shows an example of the apparatus of the present invention. This device is a facsimile device for sending only, and is installed in a car. Inside the trunk of the car are a car phone mobile device (i.e. wireless communication device) 10 and an NCU (network control unit) 1.
1 is provided.

The NCU II controls the connection of the handset (telephone) 12 and facsimile to the communication line (in this case, the mobile device 10).

The facsimile machine is connected via a modem 21 to the NCU II in the ranks. This modem 1121 is controlled by a microprocessor 26.

In addition to the modem 21, the system bus 50 of the microprocessor 26 includes a ROM 22. RAM 23°, memory card interface 242, image compressor 27, and numeric keypad 3
5 is connected.

The memory card interface 24 is provided with a slot (not shown) into which the IC memory card 100 shown in FIG. 2 can be inserted. This IC memory card 100 has a storage capacity sufficient to store several pages of image data, and is removably attached to the interface 24. IC memory car 1-10
When 0 is removed, data stored on it is retained by power from the card's built-in battery.

The interface 24 can output a signal to the microprocessor 26 indicating whether the memory card 100 is installed. That is, referring to FIG. 2, since the input terminal 24a of the interface 24 is grounded via the resistor R, when the memory card 100 is removed,
The signal level becomes low level L. memory card 10
0 is attached, a predetermined voltage is supplied to the power supply terminal Vcc, the terminal C8T becomes high level 1, and this signal is applied to the terminal 24a of the interface 24.

Therefore, a binary signal depending on whether or not the memory card 100 is attached is obtained at the output terminal 24b of the buffer BF.

The explanation will be continued with reference to FIG. 1 again. In a normal image transmission operation, an image is recorded as follows.

A document set on a document table (not shown) is conveyed to a predetermined reading section, and an image sensor 33 disposed in the reading section reads the document image line by line.

The image signal output by the image sensor 33 is subjected to processing such as amplification, shading correction, and binarization by the image processing unit 28, and is converted into a digital image signal, which is then sent to the image bus 52. The signal is applied to the image compressor 27 through the line memory 29° and the image bus 51. The image compressor 27 compresses the input image data using a known compression method such as run-length encoding, and outputs the compressed image data to the system bus 50.

Data on the system bus 50 is modulated by the modem 21 and sent out to the communication line via the NCUII and mobile device 10.

The document is fed little by little in the longitudinal direction of the paper by a drive mechanism including a stepping motor 32. Since the document is conveyed and the reading is repeated while changing the positional relationship between the reading position of the image sensor 33 and the document, the image of each line on the document is read sequentially, and the two-dimensional image on the document is read one line at a time. is read and sent to.

A plurality of originals can be placed one on top of the other on the original table, and the originals are conveyed in sequence starting from the top one, and sent to the reading section where the images are read. The document sensor SW1 detects whether or not there is a document on the document table. When there is even one original, a signal indicating that there is an original is output, and when there are no originals, a signal indicating that there is no original is output.

3a and 3b schematically show the operation of the microprocessor 26 shown in FIG. 1. The operation of the apparatus will be explained below with reference to each figure.

This device can perform operations using an IC memory card 100 in addition to sending operations similar to those of a normal facsimile. That is, when using a memory card, first the original image is read and the data is written onto the memory card, and then the image data on the card is transmitted.

To write a document image to the memory card 100, the memory card is inserted into the interface 24, the document is set on the document table, and the write switch SW3 is turned on.

In this case, the process proceeds from step 3 in FIG. 3a to step 21 in FIG. 3b. In step 21, the signal output from the memory card interface 24 is referred to to identify whether or not the memory card 100 is attached thereto. When the card is installed, in the next step 22, it is determined whether or not the installed memory card has a free storage area equivalent to one page of images or more. If there is an empty space, the state of the document sensor SW1 is checked in the next step 23, and it is determined whether or not a document is set on the document table.

If all conditions are met, proceed to the next step 24. In step 24, first, a document storage mark is written on the inserted memory card. The original storage mark is cleared in the initial state, and is set when step 24 is executed.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which shows the allocation of each storage area on the memory card 100, that is, the memory map. Referring to FIG. 4, the document storage mark area is located at the first address on the memory card.

Next, wait for input from the numeric keypad. The numerical value input by the operator here is recognized as the telephone (FAX) number of the destination to which the message is to be sent. After entering the number, write and register the number in the telephone number area on the memory card.

In the next step 25, the image sensor 33 is used to read one page of the original image, the read image data is compressed by the image compressor 27, and the compressed image data is stored on the memory card. Write.

As shown in Figure 4, the image data area for each page is from the 6th byte from the beginning of each page to the address corresponding to the amount of data, and these address values are stored in the area for storing them on each page. written to. Next to the data end address area, a transmitted mark area is reserved in advance. The sent mark for the page is cleared in step 25. Further, in step 25, the number of pages of the read image is counted.

When multiple documents exist, the process of step 25 is repeated. That is, in step 26, the document sensor SW1
The output of is checked to identify whether or not the next document exists, and if the next document exists, the process returns to step 25.

When all the documents to be read are used up, the number of written pages is stored on the memory card in step 27.

To transmit the image written on the memory card, it is sufficient to turn on the transmission switch SW2. In this case, proceed to steps 2 to 7 in FIG. 3a.

If the memory card is installed, the process proceeds from step 7 to step 8, and the document storage mark on the memory card is checked. If a document storage mark exists, the process proceeds to step 10.

In step 10, the modem 21 is connected to the communication line via the NCUll and the mobile device 10, and the line is taken off-hook. It also reads out the telephone number of the other party written on the memory card 100 and provides the data to the modem 21. This causes the modem 21 to generate a dial tone for the given telephone number using its built-in tone generator.

Output it to the communication line.

In the next step 11, a communication start procedure is executed as in the case of a general facsimile machine, and procedures for connection and information exchange with the facsimile machine on the other side (receiving side) are performed. If this connection is successful.

The process proceeds to the next step 12 and subsequent steps. If the connection fails, the connection to the line will be immediately cut off.

In step 12, the data of each page on the attached memory card is referred to. Then, if the sent mark is not written for the page, step 13 to 1
Proceed to step 4. In step 14, the image data of the page written on the memory card is read, and the data is output to the communication line via the model lz21, NCU, and mobile unit 10.

If the image data of the entire page has been successfully transmitted, step 2
At step 0, the sent mark is folded into the area of the sent mark for the page on the memory cart, and at the next step 17, the data on the memory card is referred to again to check the existence of data for the next page. When there is a pig on the next page, the process returns to step 12 and the transmission process is executed in the same manner as above. However, if a sent mark has been written on the page to be sent, the process proceeds to steps 13 to 17 and the sending process is omitted.

When the above processing is completed for all pages of image data written on the memory card, a predetermined communication termination procedure is executed in step 18, and finally the modem 21 is disconnected from the communication line to open the communication line. 5.

By the way, in facsimile communication, the line may be disconnected during the communication due to, for example, the receiving side running out of recording paper, power outage, erroneous operation 9, or deterioration of the communication line. In such a case, in the process of FIG. 3a, step 15
An interruption in transmission is detected. If an interruption is detected, step 16 is then executed. In step 16, after the line is released, the process waits until a predetermined period of time (for example, one minute) has elapsed, and then returns to step 10.

In this case, by executing steps 10 and 11, the line is connected again to the same destination as before. Then, image data transmission is executed again. However, for pages that were successfully transmitted during the previous communication, a sent mark is written in the area of the page on the memory card, so the transmission of image data for those pages is omitted. 6. In other words, the transmission process is automatically restarted from the beginning of the page that was being transmitted when line disconnection was detected during the previous communication process. Therefore, even if the line is disconnected during communication, the retransmission process is automatically executed without any operation by the operator, and there is no need to waste the image of the same page being repeatedly transmitted multiple times. Communication can be done in the minimum amount of time.

For example, if the receiving side runs out of recording paper, it may take a relatively long time to replenish (or replace) the recording paper in the receiving side device. In such a case, the same operator on the transmitting side will monopolize the equipment for a long time, but if there is an urgent need to send another transmission, another operator can interrupt and connect the line to a different telephone number. It is necessary to communicate. However, even in this situation,
The simple operation of simply replacing the memory card 100 is sufficient. In other words, the recipient's phone number and the sent mark on each page are all stored on the memory card, and the contents are retained even if the memory card is removed.
After the memory card processed by the interrupt is removed, if you reinsert the previous memory card and turn on the transmission switch,
No special operations are required because the recipient's phone number stored on the memory card is dialed and transmission resumes from the page where communication was interrupted.

Note that if you wish to retransmit an image that has already been transmitted due to an erroneous operation on the receiving side, etc., all you need to do is insert a memory card and turn on the clear switch SW4. In this case, go through steps 4 and 5 and proceed to step 6, and then proceed to "Memory Card".
Since all of the sent marks in step 2 are cleared, even image data that has already been sent can be sent again.

In the above embodiments, the case of a facsimile machine exclusively for transmission has been described, but the present invention can also be implemented in a facsimile machine having general transmission and reception functions.

Further, in the embodiment, a case has been described in which data for one item is stored on one memory card, but multiple sets of information for different parties may be written on one memory card. In that case, it is necessary to allocate various types of information as shown in FIG. 4 to each destination.

[Effects] As described above, according to the present invention, information for identifying the destination (telephone number in the embodiment) is stored in the removable image information storage means (100). Even if an operator interrupt occurs,
This can be dealt with by an extremely simple operation such as replacing the image information storage means, and the operation is made easier because there is no need to repeat dial operations.

Furthermore, if information indicating the completion of transmission is placed on the image information storage means as in the embodiment, only the minimum necessary pages will be transmitted without specifying the page in the case of retransmission, and the transmission of each page will be omitted. It is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of double transmissions.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a circuit mainly consisting of an IC memory card installed in the device shown in FIG. 3a and 3b are flowcharts outlining the operation of microprocessor 26 of FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a memory map showing allocation of memory areas on the memory card 100 of the embodiment. 10: Mobile phone mobile device 1.1: NCU 12: Handset J3: Battery 21: Modem (image transmission means) 22: ROM 23: RAM 24:
Memory card interface 26 2 Microprocessor (reception control means) 27: Image compressor 28: Image processing unit 29 2 Line memory 31: Image reading control unit 33: Image sensor (image information generation means) 35: Numeric keypad

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) Image transmission means for transmitting information via a predetermined communication line; Image information generation means; Image information storage means that is configured to be detachably attached to the device body and can read and write information; and in the write mode, The image information generated by the image information generation means and identification information for specifying the transmission destination are written in the image information storage means, and in the transmission mode, the contents of the image information storage means are read and the destination is identified by the identification information. transmitting image information to the other party via the image transmitting means;
An image transmitting apparatus comprising: a control means for automatically reconnecting a communication line to a destination specified by the identification information and re-executing a transmission operation when an interruption in transmission is detected. (2) The image information storage means has a storage capacity equivalent to a plurality of pages of images, and in the transmission mode, each time the transmission of an individual page is completed, the control means assigns the information to the page on the image information storage means. If an interruption in transmission is detected, the presence or absence of the information indicative of transmission completion is checked when re-executing the transmission operation, and the start position of the page where transmission was interrupted is written in the area where transmission was interrupted. The image transmitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image transmitting apparatus resumes transmission from.