JPH03123172A - Image display device having communication function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute the device so that a distant operation can confirm a fault state of the display device together with a displayed image by providing a control means for transmitting the state data for showing an image displayed on a display means and a fault, etc., detected by a detecting means. CONSTITUTION:The device is provided with a transmitting/receiving part 104 constituted of a fascimile mechanism for receiving an image transmitted from a circuit 105 and transmitting an image stored in a memory part 102 to the outside, a control part 101 for controlling the whole display device, an operating state data adding part 106 for writing the operating state data of an image display device in the memory 102, and a self-diagnostic part 120 for diagnosing an operating state of the image display device and detecting an abnormal part. In such a state, at the time of polling, a transmitting/receiving equipment 117 adds not only image information accumulated in the memory 102 but also data for showing an operating state of a called station, and sends them out to a calling station. In such a way, the calling station being in a remote place can understand not only the image information accumulated in the memory but also the operating state of the called station, therefore, whether the device is operating normally or not can be confirmed easily.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to an image display device having a communication function.

[Prior art]

As a conventional simple image display device, JP-A-63-18384
There are some items listed in the number etc. This display device
This will be briefly explained using figures. 108 is the main body of the display device, and 109 is a display belt for forming an image, which is made of an endless belt-shaped recording member with a white surface, and is movable to a pair of rollers 110 and 111 arranged above and below. The hook is rotated in this way and is supported in a plane with respect to the display section 112. Reference numeral 113 is an image forming means for forming an image to be displayed on the display belt.
An image is formed by electrostatically adhering conductive magnetic toner T to the display bell 109 by the method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 07 and the like. That is, as the rotating magnet 114 rotates, the magnetic toner T is conveyed on the non-magnetic cylinder 115 and supplied to the recording electrode 116. From the drive element 118 in response to the display image signal sent from the image input device 117 to the recording electrode 116,
When a predetermined voltage is applied, the magnetic toner T is transferred to the display belt 1.
09, and a desired image is formed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] In unmanned advertisements using display devices such as those described above, when an image is to be displayed, the operator operates an image reader, a personal computer, etc. to display the image on the display device. Because the images had to be transmitted, an operator had to be near the display device whenever an image was displayed.

Therefore, it is conceivable that an operator sends an image from a distance using a facsimile line and displays the image, or that the display device is provided with an image memory and the image is read from the memory and displayed. However, a remote operator may not be able to confirm what kind of image is actually displayed, or may have difficulty deciding whether to erase the currently displayed image and display another image. The problem arises that it is not possible.

In addition, even if there is an abnormality somewhere in the display device, the remote operator can send a command to switch the display or send the image to be displayed without noticing the abnormality in the device, so it has the advantage of being able to display images unattended. can no longer be fully utilized.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a communication means for transmitting and receiving images and control information via a line, a means for displaying an image, a means for detecting a failure of the display means, and a communication means for transmitting and receiving images and control information via a line. When an image confirmation command is received by the means, the control means causes the image to be displayed on the display means without disconnecting the line, and the control means for transmitting the status data representing the failure etc. detected by the detection means. .

[Effect]

With the above configuration, the present invention allows a remote operator to easily check the image displayed on the display device, and
It is also possible to check the failure state of the display device.

〔Example〕

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image display device having a communication function. 100 is an operation unit of the image display device;
Reference numeral 2 denotes a memory section for storing images to be displayed and information for display control, and can store images for a plurality of pages. 103 is a display unit for displaying images, and its configuration is as shown in FIG. 5. 104 is a line 105.
The memory unit 102
This is a transmitting/receiving unit for transmitting images stored in the computer to the outside, and is composed of a well-known facsimile mechanism.

Furthermore, images received via the line are stored in the memory 102 in a compressed state. 105 is a line such as a general public line or a dedicated line. 101 is a control unit that controls the entire display device, and 106 is an operation status data adding unit that writes operation status data of the image display device into the memory 102. Further, 107 is a ROM that stores a control program as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2, and 120 is a self-diagnosis unit that diagnoses the operating state of the image display device 108 and detects abnormalities.

Next, the operation of the display device will be explained using FIG. 2.

First, a call is set up in response to a call from the other party, and the line is connected (Sl). First, a code number request signal of "pi-pi-pi-pi-pi" is sent to the other party (S2). )
. If the recitation number is not entered within 5 seconds (S3.
4. ), the line is disconnected and the communication is terminated (S32). On the other hand, if the recitation number is input (S3), it is checked whether it is correct or not.S5) If it is incorrect, a recitation number request signal is sent again.S2), if the wrong recitation number is input twice (S6), disconnect the line and end (S32)
. This allows only transmissions from specific operators to be accepted, thereby preventing mischief.

If the recited number is correct, the process waits for a remote command using the dial tone signal DTMF within 2 seconds at step S7. S8) If there is no image data, it is determined that it is in image transmission mode and sends a beeping start request amount to request image transmission. 1
5IO) and transfer it to the memory unit 102 (
At the same time, the received data is transferred to the screen display unit 103, an image for one page is formed and displayed on the screen (S14), and the line is then disconnected and the process ends (S32). At this time, if the image data cannot be stored in the memory 102, an error signal is sent to the other party (S12°513). Also, if a DTMF remote command is sent, resolve the command, and if it is a display switching command (S15), read the next page of images from the memory and send it to the display unit.
6) Display the new image and switch the display (S17
), the line is disconnected and the process ends (S32). Further, when the remote command is a polling request command for image confirmation (818), the image signal currently displayed on the display device is called from the memory unit 102 (S21). At this time, data indicating the state of the display device is received from the self-diagnosis section 120 (S19), sent to the operating state data addition section 106, and added to the beginning of the image signal read out from the memory 102 (S20).

Then, while reading the image signal, the transmitter/receiver 104 transmits to the line 105 (S22), and after the transmission is completed, the line is disconnected and the process ends (S32). Further, when nothing is displayed on the display device, only the operating state data is transmitted.

FIG. 3(1) shows an example of operating state data added to image data. Here, a mark is recorded at number 4, indicating that there is a failure in the developer motor. Incidentally, the contents of the error information are shown in FIG. 3 (2).

Furthermore, the self-diagnosis section checks the operating state of the display device at regular intervals (for example, every 3 seconds). In addition, by issuing a polling command using DTMF, polling is executed without performing the non-standard procedure in T2O recommended by CCITT.
Polling is now possible even from facsimile machines from different manufacturers. That is, by using the code number check in s5 as a substitute for the polling ID check in 730, T2O
It is possible to immediately enter the image transmission mode without entering the non-standard procedure mode.

By performing polling in this manner, a remote operator can receive and check the currently displayed image and the status of the display device by facsimile. Note that the operating state data is recorded on the upper part of the recording paper on the receiving side.

Furthermore, since the storage address of the currently displayed image in the memory 102 is managed by the control unit 101, when polling is involved, the currently displayed image is first read from the memory and then stored in the memory. By reading all the images, assigning numbers to them, and sending them, the operator can know all the images stored in the memory.

Further, when the remote command is an automatic image switching command (S23), a timer in the control unit 101 is started (S24), and data indicating the display interval sent by the same (DTMF) is stored in the memory 102 (S25). ),
The line is disconnected (S26). Then, compare the display interval data stored in the memory with the timer count value.
), if they match, the next image is read out from the memory 102 and displayed (828.degree. 29), and the timer is cleared and started (S30). In this way, the images stored in the memory 102 are displayed cyclically at regular intervals. Also, if the remote command is other than the above,
Corresponding processing is performed (S31) and the line is disconnected.

In the embodiment described above, the operating state data is converted into an image and added to the image read from the memory and transmitted, but it is also conceivable to send the operating state as a code and convert it into an image at the calling terminal.

Furthermore, instead of adding the operational state data while reading the image data from the memory, a part of the image data in the memory may be rewritten into the operational state data and then transmitted.

Also, the control unit checks the operating status every 3 seconds, but this is not limited to 3 seconds, it can be any number of seconds, and furthermore, it checks only when it receives a polling request. Go to (method is also fine.

In addition, the location where the operating status data is recorded is to be recorded at the top of the image, but it is not particularly limited to this.
All you have to do is record it in an appropriate margin of the image.

Although the above embodiment uses a method of polling using a DTMF remote command without using the non-standard procedure of CCITT Recommendation T-30, a method using the above-mentioned non-standard procedure is also conceivable. This is shown in FIG.

Incidentally, the steps that perform the same processing as in FIG. 2 are given the same step numbers and the description thereof will be omitted.

As explained above, during polling, the called station not only uses the image information stored in its memory (but also adds data indicating the operating status of the called station) and sends it to the calling station.
Since a calling station in a remote location can grasp not only the image information stored in memory but also the operating status of the called station, for example, if a door is open, it can call the user and ask them to close it. This has the effect of allowing appropriate measures to be taken, such as dispatching a service person if there is a breakdown that requires repair. Further, by notifying that there is no abnormality with an error number "0" as shown in FIG. 3, it is easy to confirm whether or not the system is operating normally.

〔effect〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, a remote operator can easily check the image displayed on the image display device and the operating state of the display device, so the operator can give instructions to change the displayed image. This makes it possible to prevent inconveniences such as a situation in which a remote operator is unaware of a malfunction in the device and new images are not displayed even though the operator has done so.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the image display device, FIG. 2 is a control flowchart related to communication of the image display device, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of operating state data of the display device, and FIG.
The figure is a control flowchart related to image transmission when a non-standard procedure is used, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the display unit. 101 is a control unit, 102 is a memory unit, 103 is a display unit,
104 is a transmitting/receiving section, 105 is a line, 106 is an operating state data adding section, and 120 is a self-diagnosis section. JP-A-3 123172 (7)

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A communication means for transmitting and receiving images and control information via a line, a means for displaying an image, a means for detecting a failure of the display means, and a line when an image confirmation command is received by the communication means. An image display device comprising: a control means for transmitting an image displayed on the display means and status data representing a failure or the like detected by the detection means without disconnecting the display means.