JPH03187668A - Print data-facsimile data converter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To output print output to facsimile equipment without modifying hardware and application software by using an out-fitted type data converter which performs the data conversion of the print signal of a computer to a facsimile transmission signal. CONSTITUTION:One input terminal 1A to be connected to the printer port 15 of the computer 12, and two output terminals 1B, 1C to be connected to a printer 18 and a telephone line 11 are provided. When no facsimile output instruction signal is included in the print signal inutted from the printer port 15 of the computer 12, the print signal is outputted from the output terminal 1B on one side to the printer 18. Also, when the facsimile output instruction signal is included in the print signal, the print signal is converted to facsimile transmission data, and is outputted from the output terminal 1C on the other side to the telephone line 11, then, it is transmitted to opposite facsimile equipment 16. In such a way, it is possible to perform the data conversion of the print signal from the computer to a facsimile signal without necessitating the modification of the hardware of the computer and the application software.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a print data to facsimile data conversion device that outputs a printer output signal of a computer to a facsimile device through a communication line, and in particular, The present invention relates to an external print data to facsimile data conversion device that is interposed between an external print output terminal and a printer device and converts print signals into facsimile transmission signals.

(Prior art) Traditionally, facsimile machines and computers have been independent of sending data such as graphics and characters using communication lines, and data such as graphics and characters created on a computer are first printed out using a printer device. It was transmitted via facsimile. However, with recent advances in technology, print data created on a computer is now being transmitted directly to a recipient's computer or facsimile using a communication line.

FIG. 4 shows a conventional data conversion device that is built into a computer and converts print data into facsimile data, and is already well known.

A data conversion device 40 that converts printer output into facsimile data includes a connection circuit 41 with the internal data bus 33 of the computer 32, a print signal output destination changing device 42, a print signal buffer 49, a facsimile output instruction signal storage device 50,
It also includes various devices 43 to 49 for converting the signals output from the print signal output destination changing device 42 into a facsimile data transmission format. These devices 43-4
Reference numeral 9 denotes an input buffer 43 that temporarily stores print data from the print signal output destination changing device 42, an image data converter 44 that converts the print data into image data, and a frame that temporarily stores the converted image data. a memory 45; a data conversion device 46 for each factor that performs data compression, conversion to a facsimile data format, and addition of protocol information to convert image data into a data format required for transmission to a facsimile over a telephone line; An output buffer 47 that temporarily stores the converted facsimile data, a modulation device 48 that converts the facsimile data into pseudo voice data that can be transmitted over a telephone line, and a communication network with the facsimile that outputs print output data. This is a line control device 49 that performs the connection.

In the conventional data conversion device 40 configured as described above, when a print signal is output onto the data bus 33 of the computer 32, the print signal output destination changing device 42 connected to the data bus 33 through the connection circuit 41 changes the print signal. It is checked whether an output instruction signal for sending a facsimile is added to the beginning of the file.

In this investigation, the first data of the print signal is first temporarily stored in the print signal buffer 49, and then this first data is compared with the contents stored in the facsimile output instruction signal storage device 50. If the leading data matches the stored content, it is determined that a facsimile output instruction signal is added to the beginning of the print signal.

If a facsimile output instruction signal is added,
The line connection information signal in the facsimile output instruction signal is sent from the print signal output destination changing device 42 to the line control device 49, and the line control device 49 performs connection processing with the facsimile specified by the line connection information signal. Subsequently, the print signal output destination changing device 42 sends the print signal on the data bus 33 following the factor ξ output instruction signal to the manual buffer 43, and the aforementioned devices 44 to 48 convert the data included in the print signal on the bus. is converted into a factor ξ transmission data format and sent to the telephone line 31 through the line control device 49.
is output to. The output data is then transmitted to the other party's factor 36 through a normal telephone line 31.

If no facsimile output instruction signal is added, the factor ξ output instruction signal detection device 42 outputs the print signal as it is to the printer boat control device 34 . The print signal input to the printer boat control device 34 is output from the printer boat 35 of the computer 32 to the printer device 38 via the cable 37, and the print data is printed by the printer device 38.

(Problem B to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional print data/facsimile data converting device 40 configured as described above, the converting device 40 is directly connected to the data bus 33 in the computer 32 in a hardware manner. By doing so, the printer output from the computer 32 is converted into data and output to the factor ξ36. This caused the following problems.

(2) Incorporation of the conversion device 40 into the computer 32 requires modification of hardware.

■ Applying constraints to the input/output related hardware and software resources of the computer 32.

■ It is necessary to modify the existing application software to standardize printer boat output of the computer 32.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional print data to facsimile data converter, and to print from a computer without requiring modification of the computer hardware or modification of the computer application software. An object of the present invention is to provide a print data facsimile data conversion device capable of converting signals into facsimile signals.

A print data to facsimile data conversion device of the present invention, which is distantly related to the above object, is a print data to facsimile data conversion device that is interposed between a print signal output port of a computer and a printing device, and is a print data to facsimile data conversion device that converts input from the print signal output port of the computer. a first unit that checks whether a facsimile output instruction signal is included in the print signal to be sent, and if the instruction signal is not included, connects the print signal to the printing device;
and a second output terminal of the print signal output destination changing means, which outputs the print signal to an output terminal of the printer and outputs the print signal to a second output terminal when an instruction signal is included. The present invention is characterized by comprising a data converting means connected to the communication line and converting the print signal into a transmission signal of a factor ξ and outputting the converted signal to an output terminal connected to a communication line.

(Function) The print data/facsimile data conversion device of the present invention is equipped with one input terminal for connecting to a printer port of a computer, and two output terminals for connecting to a printer device and a telephone line. When the print signal input from the boat does not include a facsimile output instruction signal, the print signal is output to the printer device from one output terminal, and when the facsimile output instruction signal is included in the print signal input from the boat, the print signal is output from one output terminal. is converted into factor ξ transmission data, outputted from the other output terminal to the telephone line, and transmitted to the other party's facsimile machine via the telephone line.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which a print data/facsimile data converter 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed between a computer 12 and a printer device 18. The computer 12 has various components, but here we will discuss the components related to the present invention, namely the data bus 1 through which print signals are output.
3. Only printer boat controller 14 and printer boat 15 are shown.

The data conversion device l of this embodiment has one input terminal IA.
and two output terminals IB and IC, the input terminal IA is connected to the printer board 15 of the computer 12 via the printer cable 10, and the output terminal IB is connected to the printer device 18 via the printer cable 17, and the output terminal IB is connected to the printer device 18 via the printer cable 17. Terminal I
C is connected to a telephone line 11 leading to a facsimile 16 to which data is to be transmitted.

The data conversion device 1 includes the printer boat 1 of the computer 2.
A print signal output destination changing device that distributes the output light of the print signal to either the printer device 18 or the facsimile machine 16 depending on the presence or absence of a factor ξ output instruction signal added to the beginning of the print data input from 5 through the printer cable IO. 2. A print output signal buffer 19 that stores a predetermined number of bytes of the leading data of a print signal, a facsimile output instruction signal storage device 20 that stores a predetermined facsimile output instruction signal, and a print signal that stores the print signal as facsimile transmission data. There are various devices 3 to 9 for converting data into data and transmitting it to the telephone line 11.

These devices 3 to 9 include an input buffer 3 that temporarily stores print data from the printer boat, an image data converter 4 that converts print data into image data, and an image data converter 4 that temporarily stores converted image data. A page memory 5 for storing image data, a facsimile data conversion device that performs data compression for converting image data into a data format required for transmission to a facsimile through a telephone line, conversion to a facsimile data format, and addition of protocol information. 6, an output buffer 7 that temporarily stores facsimile data, a modulation device 8 that converts facsimile data into pseudo voice data that can be transmitted over a telephone line, and a connection through a communication network with a facsimile 16 that sends print signals. This is the line control device 9 that performs this.

In the print data facsimile data conversion device 1 configured as described above, when a print signal from the printer boat 15 of the computer 12 is input to the print signal output destination changing device 2 through the printer cable 17, first, the beginning of the print signal is The data is temporarily stored in the print output signal buffer 19 and then compared with the stored contents of the facsimile output instruction signal storage device 20. If the leading data matches the stored content, it is determined that a facsimile output instruction signal is added to the beginning of the print signal.

If a facsimile output instruction signal is added,
The print signal output destination changing device 2 outputs a command to the line control device 9, and the line control device 9 sends the facsimile 16 of the telephone number specified by the line connection information signal and the telephone line 1.
1 connection is made.

Thereafter, the print signal sent from the printer port 15 is data-converted into a facsimile transmission signal by the procedure described below.

(1) A print signal is sent to the image data conversion device 4 via the input buffer 3.

(2) The image data conversion device 4 uses the page memory 5 to convert computer print data, which is a combination of character data, printer control code, and pixel data sent from the computer, into a combination of pixels for each page. Convert to image data.

(3) The facsimile data conversion device 6 compresses information and adds protocol data to the image data for each frame, converts it into a facsimile transmission data format, and sends the data to the modulation device 8 via the output buffer 7. send to

(4) The modulator 8 converts the facsimile data into voice data that can be transmitted over the telephone line, and sends it to the telephone line 11 through the line control bag W9.

On the other hand, if the facsimile output instruction signal is not added to the print data manually entered into the data conversion device 1, the data sent from the printer port 15, including the contents of the print output signal buffer 19, is sent as is to the printer device 18. .

Next, the means for detecting the facsimile output instruction signal will be explained with reference to FIG. When the print signal output destination changing device 2 receives a print output signal from the printer boat 15 of the computer 12, first, in step 201, the first N
A byte worth of signals is stored in the print output signal buffer 19.

Next, in step 202, the contents of the buffer 19 are compared with the contents of the facsimile output instruction signal storage device 20 to determine whether the facsimile output instruction signal corresponds to a predetermined facsimile output instruction signal. Here, the number of bytes N corresponds to the capacity of the buffer 19, and a sufficient number of bytes is specified so that the signal is not mistakenly recognized as an escape sequence signal used for printing control of the printer device 18. Furthermore, a signal pattern that is not used for print control of the printer is selected for this escape sequence signal.

If the signal stored in the buffer 19 matches the facsimile output instruction signal stored in the facsimile output instruction signal storage device 20 (YES), the process advances to step 203;
The M byte signal following the first N byte signal is sent to the line control device 9 as the telephone number of the destination (connection destination) by a factor ξ. Then, in the following step 204, all print signals inputted from the printer port 1-15 after the connection destination telephone number are sent to the manual buffer 3. Here, it is assumed that a sufficient number of M is secured for the line control device 9 to connect to the communication destination facsimile.

On the other hand, in the determination at step 202, if the first N-byte signal does not correspond to the facsimile output instruction signal stored in advance in the facsimile output instruction signal storage device 20 (NO>, this first N-byte signal is also included). All signals output from printer port 15 of computer 12 are sent to printer device 18 without modification.

Finally, the means for sending the output from the application program to the factor on the computer 12 will be explained with reference to FIG.

In step 301, first, a program is launched on the computer 12 to send a facsimile output instruction signal to the printer boat. In the following step 302, input from the console of the facsimile destination telephone number calculator 2 is read. Then, in step 303, the aforementioned N-byte escape sequence signal is sent to the printer boat 15, and at the same time, the telephone number of the destination of the facsimile is sent to the printer boat 15 as an N-byte signal. Then step 30
At step 4, the printer print data factor output instruction escape sequence sending program is terminated. Thereafter, in step 305, the existing printing application program is executed.

In this manner, the present invention makes it possible to transmit printer print output to a facsimile machine without making any changes to computer hardware or existing application software.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the telephone number of the facsimile destination is input from the console, but this can be changed to read the signal on the disk attached to the computer, convert it, and send it. is extremely easy.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to output the printout of a computer to a facsimile via a telephone line without modifying the hardware of the computer itself or the application software. Therefore, there are the three problems already explained: (1) It is necessary to modify the hardware to incorporate the conversion device.

■ Place constraints on computer input/output-related hardware and software resources.

■ It is necessary to modify existing application software that uses computer printer board output as standard.

In addition to being able to solve the problem, by sharing the conversion device of the present invention among a plurality of computers, it becomes possible to economically and efficiently introduce a computer print output facsimile data conversion device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a print data facsimile data conversion device according to an embodiment of the present invention installed between a computer and a printer device, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a print signal output which is a component of the device according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example of the operation of the destination change device; FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example of a method for starting the output device from the computer side for shortening printer printout to facsimile according to the present invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example of how to output printer printout to facsimile 1 is a configuration diagram of an example of a computer with a conventional configuration that can perform the following operations. 1... Print data facsimile data conversion device, I
A...Input terminal, 1B, IC...Output terminal, 2...Print signal output destination changing device, 3...Manual buffer, 4...Image data conversion device, 5...Page memory, 6...Facsimile data conversion device, 7...Output buffer, 8...Modulation device, 9...Line control device, 0...Printer cable, l...Telephone line, 2...Computer , 3...Data bus, 4...Printer port control device, 5...Printer board, 6...Facsimile, 7...Printer cable, 8...Printer device, 9...Print output signal buffer,

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A print data facsimile data conversion device interposed between a print signal output port of a computer and a printing device, wherein a facsimile output instruction signal is included in the print signal input from the print signal output port of the computer. is included, and if the instruction signal is not included, outputs the print signal to a first output terminal connected to the printing device;
a print signal output destination changing means for outputting the print signal to a second output terminal when an instruction signal is included; A print data facsimile data conversion device comprising: data conversion means for converting data into a facsimile transmission signal and outputting the data to an output terminal connected to a communication line.