JPH03196734A - Facsimile document sequential transfer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To transfer picture information efficiently without interruption of communication by allowing a scheduled station to receive a polling from a station having received information already and one of request sender stations when a fault takes place at transfer of picture information. CONSTITUTION:When power failure takes place in a station C, picture information stored in a picture memory of the station C is erased, then after power failure is restored, the station C applies polling (transmission of transmission request signal a) to a request sender A to extract picture information to be transferred from the station A and to start communication with a station D again. Moreover, in the case of (b) in figure, when power failure takes place in the station C, after the power failure is restored, the station C applies polling (transmission of transmission request signal b) to a one-preceding station D with respect to its own station to extract picture information to be transferred from the station D and to start communication with the station D again. When the station D detects a data error during transfer of picture information from the station C to the station D, the station DC applies polling (transmission of transmission request signal c) to the request sender A to extract picture information.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a facsimile document sequential transfer method, and in particular, even if an abnormality occurs during transfer, it can be used without placing a large burden on the requester. This invention relates to a facsimile document sequential transfer method for allowing image information to reach a scheduled destination.

(Prior art) When transmitting a document with the same content from one requesting station to multiple stations, in order to reduce communication costs and reduce the burden on the requesting station, the station that received the image information is However, a sequential transfer method is adopted in which the station then becomes a transmitting station and transfers the image information to the next station, and that station further transfers the image information to the next station. An example of a sequential transfer facsimile device is described in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 64-3247.

During sequential transfer using this device, if an error occurs during the transfer or if the other station is busy, etc.
Image information may not be transferred to the scheduled destination, or it may take a long time to transfer image information to all destinations.

By the way, in a method in which image information is sent back from the master station to the grandchild station via the child station, if the grandchild station cannot receive image information normally, the child station detects this and the child station sends the image information from the child station to the grandchild station. A relay broadcast system for retransmitting image information has been proposed (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 81070/1983). Furthermore, a relay transmission method has been proposed in which image information is transferred to a scheduled relay station when the other station is busy, and the image information is transferred from the relay station to the other station ( Japanese Patent Publication No. 61288651
Publication No.).

In the relay broadcasting method, slave stations equipped with abnormality detection and retransmission functions must always respond to abnormalities.
The burden on the slave station is increasing.

On the other hand, the relay transmission method has a problem in that the system becomes unnecessarily complex because image information is transferred via a relay station, which is a third station, for communication between two stations.

Furthermore, it has been difficult to transfer the image information retransmission method and transfer method used in the relay relay method and relay transmission method to the sequential transfer method.

In contrast, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 189864/1983 proposes a document transfer method for dealing with communication abnormalities in the sequential transfer method. According to this method, if the transfer becomes impossible to the forwarding destination during the relay, the station that can no longer forward the forwarding can send back information such as its own facsimile number to the requester, and the requester can Since it is possible to determine to which station the sent image information has been transferred based on the returned information, the requester can resend the image information to the station where the transfer was interrupted.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the above-mentioned prior art, there is a problem in that if the transfer becomes impossible to the transfer destination during the relay, the transfer process must be interrupted.

In this case, the requester must resend the image information, which poses a problem of placing a large burden on the requester in preparation for resending the image information.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to transfer schedules in sequential transfer without interrupting the sequential transfer even if an abnormality occurs during communication, and without imposing a large burden on the requester. The object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile document sequential transfer method that can transfer images to all destinations.

(Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objects, the present invention provides that when an abnormality occurs during image information transfer, a scheduled transmission station or a receiving station is However, the first feature is that the system is configured so that a polling operation can be performed on one station among the station to which the image information has already been transferred and the requesting station, which is located before the transmitting station.

Furthermore, in the sequential transfer of image information to a plurality of transfer destinations, if a called station does not respond to a call, the present invention interrupts the call to the called station, changes the transfer order, and transfers image information to other transfer destinations. Select whether to send the image information to the destination or redial as necessary, and furthermore, to the station where the transfer was interrupted, a selection is made based on the unreceived station information of the destination information including the dialed number of the destination. The second feature is that the system is configured so that image information is transferred from another station that has selected a scrap.

In the present invention having the first and second configurations described above, even if the called station is unable to receive image information, the sequential transfer of image information is not interrupted, and the requestor is not burdened with retransmitting image information, and the sequential transfer of image information is not interrupted. The transfer process is released early and other communication processes can be executed.

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

First, a facsimile machine used in this embodiment will be explained. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, image information of a document read by a reading device 1lfl is compressed and encoded by an encoding/decoding circuit 3, and is temporarily stored in an image memory 2. The accumulated image information is modulated by the modem 4 and then sent to the line via the network control device 5. These modem 4 and network control device 5 are controlled by a communication control section 6.

On the other hand, the signal taken in from the line is demodulated by modem 4,
The image is stored in the image memory 2. The accumulated image information is decompressed by the encoding/decoding circuit 3, read out as appropriate, and recorded by the printing device 7. The system control section 8 is composed of a microcomputer, and controls each section mentioned above according to a scheduled program.

The program is stored in the ROM 9, and management data for communication is stored in the RAM 10.

The operation unit 11 is provided for manually inputting management data, dials, etc. for performing predetermined operations.

The management data includes destination information including the dial numbers (hereinafter referred to as dials) of all stations to be transferred, and instructions that can identify whether the communication is sequential transfer or normal image information transmission. There's a signal. Furthermore, if the transferred document is an urgent document, information indicating this is also included in the management data.

The destination information, sequential transfer instruction signals, etc. are configured in the following format and become transmission information. FIG. 6 is a frame configuration diagram of transmission information, and shows an example of the frame configuration of an NSS signal that transmits the destination information, a sequential transfer instruction signal, and information indicating the necessity of emergency.

As shown in the figure, the frame includes a flag field F,
It consists of an address field A, a control field C1, a facsimile control field FCF, a facsimile information field PIF, and a frame check sequence FC8.

The facsimile control field FCF is a field for identifying the function of a signal, and in this example consists of data indicating an NSS signal. The facsimile information field PIF includes functional information such as document size, linear density, transmission speed, etc., and a portion indicating information for sequential transfer. Information for sequential transfer in the facsimile information field PIF is indicated by data D1 and D2. The final bit of data D1 is a sequential transfer instruction bit, and when this bit is "1", the communication indicates a sequential transfer instruction. Data D2 is destination information,
The number of transfer destinations (number of stations), the number of dial digits, and the transfer destination dial are displayed in hexadecimal. For example, by arranging the transfer destination dials in the data D2 in the order of transfer, the station that received the destination information can easily determine to which station the image information should be transferred next.

Next, the operation of the facsimile document sequential transfer method using the facsimile apparatus having the above configuration will be explained. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a transfer operation according to the method of the present invention.

In the figure, stations A-D indicate facsimile machines installed in a particular group, for example, a plurality of offices belonging to the same company, which send and receive the same document by sequential transfer. In this embodiment, when station A is the transfer request source and transfers the same document to stations B-D, if a power outage occurs at station C while the document is being transferred from station C to station C, or if a data error occurs. An example of a case where this occurs will be explained.

First, a case where a power outage occurs at station C will be described.

In Figure 1(a), when a power outage occurs at station C, station C
Since the image information stored in image memory 2 will be erased, after the power outage is resolved, station C will perform a polling operation (sending transmission request signal a) to requester A, and will transfer the information starting from scrap A. The target image information is retrieved and communication with the station is started again.

In addition, in the example of FIG. 1(b), if a power outage occurs at station C, the image information stored in the image memory 2 of station C will be erased, so after the power outage is resolved, station C will It performs a polling operation (sends a transmission request signal) to the previous station, that is, station B, extracts the image information to be transferred from station B, and starts communication with the station again.

In the above two examples, if station C is configured to start communication with the station after outputting the received image information by the printing device 7 of its own station, station C no longer receives image information. Therefore, station D, whose supply of image information is interrupted due to a power outage, polls the requester A or the station before the transmitting station C, for example, the station B that is one station ahead of the transmitting station C. You may also do so.

The example in FIG. 1C shows an example of what to do when a data error is detected at the station while image information is being transferred from station C to the station. In the figure, when a data error is detected at the station, the station performs a polling operation (sends a transmission request signal C) to request source A to retrieve image information.

In this case, the station may obtain image information by polling station B or station C instead of request source A, but station C,
Since there is a high possibility that the data error occurred due to a poor line condition between D and D, it is preferable to poll requester A and extract complete information.

Note that a data error can be detected by a known data error detection means that compares the number of pixels per scanning line based on decoded data with a predetermined number and estimates the occurrence of a data error based on the result.

An example of a facsimile apparatus according to this embodiment having a function of taking measures when such an abnormality occurs will be described next. FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the facsimile machine.

In the figure, the destination information storage unit 12 has a request relay station (1
Destination information such as the transfer destination dial, sequential transfer instruction signal, and request source dial transferred from the previous station) is stored. When transferring the destination information stored in the destination information storage section 12 to the next station, received identification information is added to the dial of the local station among the transfer destination dials, and the information is transferred to the next station. As a result, stations that have already received image information and stations that have not received it can be determined based on the reception identification information of the destination information.

The transfer destination selection unit 17 selects one of the unreceived stations based on the received identification information. The calling section 18 reads the dial of the station selected by the transfer destination selection section 17, emits a ring tone according to the dial, and calls the other station.

The power outage detection unit 14 detects a power outage during communication and issues a polling preparation instruction to the polling execution unit 13. After being supplied with a polling preparation instruction, the polling execution unit 13 is supplied with a detection signal from a power failure recovery detection unit 15 that detects power-on, and in response to these signals, the polling execution unit 13 executes the destination information storage unit 12.
Calling unit 1 dials the station ahead of the local station, that is, the requesting station and the station that has already received the image information.
8 and performs polling.

In addition, the receiving station side, for example, as a function of the station shown in FIG. 1, is provided with a communication interruption detection unit 25 so as to be able to detect an interruption due to a power outage during communication, and as described in connection with FIG. 1, the transmitting station C Print out the image information and transfer it to the next destination B.
When configured to initiate communication with
When the communication means 25 detects a communication interruption, it may be possible to immediately instruct the polling execution section 13 of the own station to execute polling without waiting for the station C to recover from power outage.

Further, a data error detection section 16 is provided so as to be able to deal with the occurrence of the data error. The data error detection section 16 compares the number of pixels per scanning line supplied from the decoding section 3a with a scheduled number, and outputs an error detection signal to the polling execution section 13 based on the result. When the polling execution unit 13 is supplied with the error detection signal, it executes the same polling operation as the treatment after the power outage is detected.

Next, a description will be given of what to do when the transfer cannot be continued because the other party does not respond to the call or is busy, that is, the line is in use.

In FIG. 2(a), if the station does not respond to the calling signal d from station C, station C interrupts the calling operation to the station and starts communication with the next transfer destination E. After station E receives the image information, it calls the station and, if there is a response, transfers the image information to the station.

On the other hand, in FIG. 2(b), if the station returns a busy signal e in response to the calling signal d from station C, after a certain period of time, station C will call the station again. Transfer image information by giving instructions (redial).

Redial will be repeated the scheduled number of times. When the line with the station is connected by redial and the image information is transferred, the station further transfers the image information to the next destination E, completing one sequential transfer.

In the transfer method shown in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), subsequent actions were selected depending on whether the other party did not respond to the call or was busy. However, instead of choosing whether to redial or change the transfer order depending on whether the called party does not answer the call or is busy, if the transfer is not continued due to these circumstances, the transferred document is urgent. The above selection may be made based on the criterion of whether or not.

In other words, if the transferred document is highly urgent, it is possible to give up communication with stations that cannot connect to the line, start communication with station E first, and finish information transmission to all stations early. Take the following measures. On the other hand, in the case of transferring a document with a low degree of urgency, a call signal is continued to be sent to the station, and steps are taken to transfer the image information in accordance with the initially set transfer order.

Next, an example of a facsimile apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described, which has a function to take measures when line connection cannot be established due to no response or a busy line. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the facsimile machine, and the same reference numerals as in FIG. 3 indicate the same or equivalent parts.

In the figure, the determining unit 19 determines whether the busy tone is detected by the busy tone signal detecting unit 20 or if the response signal (ringing back tone) to the calling signal is not detected by the response signal detecting unit 21. Give appropriate instructions in response to each situation.

That is, when the determining unit 19 detects the busy tone,
A redial command is output to the redial section 22, and the redial section 22 responds to this and repeatedly sends out the calling signal a predetermined number of times via the calling section 18 after the elapse of the predetermined time. On the other hand, if a ringing back tone is not detected, a signal is output to the call interrupting section 23 to interrupt the call to the currently called partner station, and
Outputs an instruction signal to the transfer destination selection section 17, reads out the next transfer destination dial from among the dials stored in the destination information storage section 12 to the calling section 18, and instructs the new partner station to call. .

Further, the urgency level detection unit 24 determines whether or not the transfer document is urgent based on the presence or absence of the urgency information of the transfer document included in the destination information. The determining unit 19 outputs instructions to the call interrupting unit 23, transfer destination selecting unit 17, and redial unit 22, respectively, based on the result of determining the urgency.

In other words, if it is determined that the document is urgent, the call to the currently calling partner station is interrupted and an instruction is given to call a new partner station. , the dialing is repeated by the scheduled number of times every time the scheduled time set in the redial section 22 elapses.

Note that for stations that were skipped because they were unable to receive image information as described in relation to the second axis), the station that has not received image information, that is, the station, is identified by the received identification information in the destination information. The station detected based on this, for example station E, calls the station and transfers the image information.

As described above, this embodiment deals with cases such as when a power outage occurs while image information is being transferred sequentially, when a data error occurs, and when the line with the receiving station is not connected. appropriate measures can be taken.

In either case, the image information can be transmitted to all of the scheduled transfer destinations in a short time by continuing the sequential transfer without placing an excessive burden on the transfer request source or a specific station.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, when an abnormality occurs during transfer or when the line is not connected due to busyness, communication can be efficiently maintained without interrupting communication. Image information can be transferred automatically.

In addition, if an error occurs during the transfer, or if the line is not connected due to a busy situation, the requester and other stations will not be requested to retransmit the image information, so the requester and other stations will As soon as the image information is transferred to the next station, the station is immediately released from the communication.
The utilization efficiency of each station can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1 and 2 are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 3 and 4 are functional block diagrams showing the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is used in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the hardware configuration of a facsimile machine, and is a diagram showing an example of a frame of transmission information. 2... Image memory, 4... Modem, 5... Network control device, 11... Operation unit, 12... Destination information storage unit,
13... Polling execution unit, 14... Power outage detection unit,
15... Power failure recovery detection unit, 16... Data error detection unit, 17... Transfer destination selection unit, 18... Calling unit, 1
9... Discrimination section, 20... Busy sound signal detection section, 21.
...Response signal detection section, 22... Redial section, 23.
...Call interruption section, 24...Urgency necessity detection section

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In the facsimile document sequential transfer method that sequentially transfers image information to the destination indicated by the destination dial number included in the destination information, if an abnormality is detected during image information transfer, the transmitting station and the receiving station A facsimile document sequential transfer system characterized in that one of the scheduled stations performs polling reception from one of the requesting stations and a station that is earlier than the transmitting station and has already received the image information. (2) In the facsimile document sequential transfer method that sequentially transfers image information to the forwarding destination indicated by the forwarding destination dial number included in the destination information, if the line with the called station is not connected, After interrupting the calling instruction, change the transfer order and instruct one of the other unreceived stations included in the destination information to send the image information, or change the transfer that was originally scheduled. A facsimile document sequential transfer method characterized in that the image information is transferred by selecting whether to redial the called station and transmit the image information without changing the order as necessary.