JPH0337349B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a microcomputer-controlled facsimile device in which a program for facsimile operation control can be easily changed.

Due to advances in integrated circuit technology, the recent development of microcomputers (hereinafter referred to as microcomputers) has been remarkable, and small-sized devices with large storage capacity and high arithmetic processing capabilities can now be obtained at extremely low costs. It has permeated almost every technical field, and many microcomputer-controlled facsimile machines have come to be used.

An example of a facsimile apparatus using such a microcomputer control method is shown in FIG.

In the figure, 1 is the microcontroller's central processing unit (CPU), 2 is the microcontroller's read-only memory (POM), 3 is the microcontroller's random access memory (RAM), 4 is the input/output interface (I/O), 5 is a scanner for reading originals, 6 is a plotter for recording images, 7 is a modem, 8 is a line control unit (NCU), 9 is an operation panel, and 10 is a display for displaying the operating status.

CPU1, ROM2, RAM that make up the microcomputer
3 are connected to each other via a bus for exchanging addresses and data, and further connected to a facsimile scanner 5, plotter 6, modem 7, NCU 8, etc. via an I/O 4, and are connected to a control program stored in ROM 2. Therefore, the CPU 1 controls operations necessary for facsimile. Temporary storage of data required at this time is performed by the RAM 3.

In this way, according to the microcomputer control method, the operation control contents of the facsimile are richer, and the NCU8
This type of facsimile has become widely adopted because it is easy to control automatic sending and receiving via .

By the way, facsimile machines are still relatively expensive equipment at present, and the amortization period is not short. Therefore, it is desirable to be able to respond flexibly to changes in operating specifications in response to changes in standards or user requests.

However, in the above-described conventional microcomputer-controlled facsimile apparatus, all control programs are stored in the ROM, so changing the control program requires replacing the ROM.

Therefore, in conventional microcomputer-controlled facsimile devices, the ROM must be replaced in order to change the operating specifications, and each time, service work is required at the user's location where the facsimile device is installed. Therefore, it takes time to change,
Another drawback was that the replaced ROM was wasted, resulting in a significant increase in cost.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art described above, eliminate the need to replace the ROM when changing specifications, and automatically run an operation control program from a central service control transmitting station installed at a predetermined location. To provide a facsimile device that allows changes to be made.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention is characterized in that a program for facsimile operation control is stored in a RAM, and access to the RAM is made possible from a predetermined transmitting station.

Embodiments of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which the same or equivalent parts as in the conventional example of FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

In Fig. 2, 11 is a RAM for storing programs for operation control (written as RAM [] to distinguish it from RAM 3), and 12 is a RAM [] that can be backed up and stored even when the power is turned off. This battery is used to prevent the data stored on the device from being lost.

The difference between the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 and the conventional example shown in FIG.
2 is provided, and the operation control program is stored in the ROM.
It is stored in RAM [] 11 instead of 2,
ROM2 takes the lead in controlling facsimile operations.
In addition, ROM2 contains a program to check the memory contents of RAM[]11 and check whether a program for facsimile operation control is stored. A program that controls the NCU 8 and performs automatic dialing to a predetermined central control calling station via a telephone line; controls the NCU 8 and monitors incoming calls from the telephone line; incoming data in RAM
[] Programs for determining whether or not to import data into RAM [] 11 and programs for storing incoming data in RAM [] 11 are stored therein. The only difference is that a so-called AA type NCU is used.

Therefore, in the normal operating state of the facsimile machine, the CPU 1 performs control according to various programs stored in the RAM [ ] 11, and when sending a facsimile, input operations from the operation panel 9 and setting of the original on the scanner 5 are performed. Scanner 5 reads the image information, modem 7 and
Operation control such as data transmission is performed via the NCU 8, and when a call is received, the plotter 6 is controlled to record and play back image information. will be used.

At this time, if necessary, display 1
It is similar to a normal facsimile machine in that the other party's telephone number and operating status are displayed at 0.

Next, the operations according to the above-mentioned programs stored in the ROM 2 will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

As is well known, a facsimile device equipped with an AA type NCU8 has a main power source and a standby power source so that it can automatically receive and record image information in response to an incoming call, and has a main power source and a standby power source, and is equipped with a main power source and a standby power source for sending and receiving operations. It is customary to turn on the standby power supply as needed even at other times.

Therefore, as a condition for entering the operation according to this flowchart, the standby power supply is turned on, and control by the ROM 2 is thereby started.

When entering this flow by turning on the standby power, first, in step (hereinafter simply referred to as S) 1,
It is checked whether a facsimile control program is stored in the RAM []11. S1
If the result of the determination is YES, that is, the necessary program is stored in the RAM [ ] 11, the process advances to the next step S2, and it is checked whether or not there is an incoming call to the NCU 8 via the telephone line. The judgment result here is
If NO, that is, there is no incoming call, continue with S3
Then, it is checked whether or not the original to be transmitted is set in the scanner 5. And the result is
If NO, that is, there is no document to send, the process returns to S2, and the operations of S2 and S3 are repeated in sequence until an incoming call appears or a document to be sent is set, thereby monitoring incoming calls and sending. become.

Now, in this state, if an incoming call from another facsimile device appears, the judgment result in S2 will be YES.
become. Therefore, at this time, it turns to S4 and confirms that the incoming call is from a predetermined central control transmitting station.
It is checked whether the program is for rewriting the contents of the program stored in RAM []11. However, since the call is currently being received from another facsimile device as described above, the result of the determination in S4 is naturally NO, and therefore the normal facsimile reception operation begins in S5. and,
The operation at this time is as described above.
This is done using a program stored in 11.

It is also assumed that a document is set in the scanner 5 in this state. Then, when the process advances from S2 to S3, the determination result in S3 becomes YES, and the process then proceeds to S6 to perform a normal facsimile transmission operation. And the behavior at this time is also
Control is performed based on the program stored in RAM [] 11, as in the case of the reception operation.

Although S5 and S6 are shown as one block in FIG. 3, it goes without saying that these represent a series of receiving or transmitting operations in a normal microcomputer-controlled facsimile apparatus.

Next, assume that the operational specifications need to be changed due to changes in international standards for facsimile.

In carrying out the present invention, a predetermined central control transmitting station, that is, a control center, is provided for this operation specification change service, and communication is possible with all facsimile devices under its control. At the same time, a program list for each facsimile device is provided.

Therefore, when the control center sends a call to the necessary facsimile device to make the above specification change, the judgment result in S2 is
The result becomes YES, and then the judgment result at S4 also becomes YES. As a result, data sent from the control center is received from S4 to S7, and the data is transferred and stored in the RAM [ ] 11 in S8. In other words, RAM [] 1
1, a new program that has just been sent from the control center will be stored in place of the old program that was previously stored.

After the new program is stored in S8, the process returns to S2 and returns to the initial state.

Therefore, the reception operation after S5 when a call is received from another facsimile device and the transmission operation after S6 when the original to be sent is set are both stored in RAM [] 11 from the control center. This will be carried out by the new program, and the specification changes will be completed.

Now, as is clear from the above explanation, in the facsimile device implementing the present invention, the program for normal facsimile operation is
It is stored in RAM []11. Therefore,
As RAM [] 11, it is necessary to use so-called non-volatile RAM whose memory contents will not be lost even when the power is turned off, or to use a RAM that has been given non-volatile characteristics by adding some kind of backup means. be. Therefore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a backup battery 12 is used to give the RAM 11 non-volatile characteristics.

However, even in such a case, for some reason, such as the battery 12 being depleted, or when the standby power is turned on for the first time after the facsimile machine has been manufactured, the RAM [ ] 11 may not have enough memory. Situations may occur where the program is not stored or the program has been destroyed.

Therefore, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG.
S1 is provided, and the line always passes through S1 when the standby power source is turned on. Then, the judgment result in S1 is NO, that is, RAM[]11
If the necessary program is not stored, the process advances to S9, where the AA type NCU 8 is controlled to perform automatic dialing and call the control center. Then, the data sent from the control center in response to this is received in the next step S7, and transferred to the RAM [ ] 11 and written in S8.

Therefore, in this embodiment, even when the necessary program is not stored in the RAM 11, the facsimile operation will not fail or malfunction.

As is clear from the above explanation, in the present invention, the data transmitted from the control center
Since it is written to the RAM [] 11 and then becomes the program necessary for facsimile operation, the communication method with the control center is a communication method that is more accurate than the communication method between facsimile devices, such as the ARQ method. Alternatively, it is desirable to use a method that lowers the transmission rate to reduce the occurrence of errors.

In this way, according to the above embodiment, initially,
Even if the program is not stored in RAM [] 11, you can easily store the program online any time after connecting to the line, turning on the standby power supply, and setting it to a usable state. Even if the control program is not yet completed, the facsimile device can be manufactured and shipped to the market in anticipation of its completion later.

Of course, since the program for facsimile operation control is stored in the RAM 11, the storage capacity of the ROM 2 can be reduced.

Note that in the embodiment shown in FIG.
A backup battery 12 is used to provide non-volatile characteristics to RAM 11, but RAM [] 1
In addition to 1, a magnetic tape recording device or the like is used to store the data received from the control center using this magnetic tape recording device, and when necessary, the data is stored in the RAM [] 1
Backup may be performed by writing data to 1.

Furthermore, if non-volatile RAM such as magnetic bubble memory, which has been developed in recent years, is used, backup means is not necessary from the beginning.

As explained above, according to the present invention, it is possible to rewrite the program of the facsimile device from the service control center via the telephone line, so it is extremely easy to change the operational specifications, eliminating the drawbacks of the conventional technology. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a facsimile device which can be operated without replacing the ROM and is highly serviceable.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conventional example of a microcomputer-controlled facsimile device, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the facsimile device according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining its operation. . 1...CPU, 2...ROM, 3...RAM, 4
...Input/output interface, 5...Skyana,
6...Protector, 7...Modem, 8...Line control device, 9...Operation panel, 10...Display, 11...RAM [], 12...Battery for backup.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A facsimile machine having a control means that operates based on a control program, and in which transmission and reception of image information is controlled by the control means, which is connected to a telephone line and responds to incoming calls from a calling station. a first storage means that stores the control program for causing the control means to control transmission and reception of image information of the facsimile device and whose stored contents are changeable; A determination program for causing the control means to determine whether or not an incoming call to the line control means changes the content stored in the first storage means; and a determination program for causing the control means to store the incoming call data in the first storage means. and a second storage means storing a writing program, and after receiving a call to the line control means, the control means first operates based on the determination program,
If it is determined that the incoming call changes the content stored in the first storage means, then the first storage means operates based on the writing program to store the incoming call data sent from the calling station. On the other hand, if it is determined that the incoming call does not change the storage content of the first storage means, it subsequently operates based on the control program and controls the image information reception operation. A facsimile device characterized in that it is configured as follows.