JPH04207752A - Facsimile store and forward communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To quickly detect the fault of another facsimile store and forward equipment and to perform processing corresponding to that by clocking a prescribed time from a time when the transmission of image information to another facsimile store and forward equipment is completed, and transmitting image formation for monitor to the another facsimile store and forward equipment. CONSTITUTION:When no relay communication of an original to another facsimile store and forward equipment 1n is generated, it is possible to always recognize the state of another facsimile store and forward equipment by transmitting data for monitor to the another facsimile store and forward equipment 1n periodically (for example, at every 10 minutes), and monitoring the state of the facsimile store and forward equipment, especially, to quickly perform the separation of the facsimile store and forward equipment in which the fault occurs, or arrangement for recovery, etc., by recognizing the occurrence of the fault in another facsimile store and forward equipment in advance. Therefore, communication with high reliability can be performed by minimizing influence on a system in which the fault occurs.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Object of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a facsimile storage system comprising a plurality of facsimile storage and exchange devices that use a plurality of facsimile devices as image information input/output terminals. Regarding exchange communication systems (prior art) In conventional facsimile store-and-forward communication systems,
For example, when a source facsimile device (hereinafter simply referred to as a terminal) specifies a secondary address (destination information) and sends a document (image information) to the nearest facsimile storage and forwarding device, this facsimile storage and forwarding device After receiving the destination information and image information input from the computer, the information is stored on the magnetic disk.

After that, the CPU of this facsimile storage and forwarding device analyzes the contents of the destination information stored in the magnetic disk and determines whether the destination terminal is a terminal that is managed by itself or managed by Ike's facsimile storage and forwarding device. determine whether the terminal is

As a result, the CPU is a terminal managed by the destination itself.
If there is a service request from this terminal, the corresponding image information stored on the magnetic disk will be delivered to the specified terminal I\, but the information will be delivered to the designated terminal I\, which is managed by the destination terminal or another facsimile storage and forwarding device. If there is a relay request, the corresponding original on the magnetic disk is transmitted to another facsimile storage/exchange device.

The CPU of the other facsimile storage and forwarding device stores the received relay request information and the manuscript on a magnetic disk.1: ? &
, reads and distributes the corresponding manuscript stored on the magnetic disk to the facsimile terminal specified by the relay information.

In the conventional facsimile store-and-forward communication system of type 2, a facsimile store-and-forward device that receives a request to send a document to a terminal that it does not manage sends the request to another facsimile store-and-forward device that manages the terminal. Said terminal j
A request is made to relay the original \, but the relay communication associated with this relay request is only performed when there is no need to relay the original as described above.

Therefore, during off-peak hours when the document distribution service from the terminals of the conventional two types of facsimile storage and forwarding communication systems has passed, relay communication from the facsimile storage and forwarding device to other facsimile storage and forwarding devices I\ will not occur. Therefore, the status of other facsimile storage and forwarding devices (faulty or normal operating status, etc.) is unknown, especially during off-peak hours as mentioned above. When this occurs, the status of the facsimile storage and forwarding device to which the relay request is made can be checked for the first time.For example, if a fault has occurred in the storage and forwarding device to which the relay request is made at time 2, this fault will occur. It becomes impossible to distribute data to all the terminals managed by the facsimile storage and forwarding device, which has a serious impact on the entire system.2 Therefore, in any case, it is necessary to check the status of other facsimile storage and forwarding devices in advance. In particular, if a failure occurs in the other facsimile storage and forwarding device, take measures such as placing the terminal managed by the failed facsimile storage and forwarding device under the control of the facsimile storage and forwarding device itself or another facsimile storage and forwarding device. Measures are requested to ensure that any significant impact on the system is removed.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As mentioned above, <Relay communication between facsimile storage and forwarding devices in this type of facsimile store-and-forward communication system was carried out only when the need for relay communication arose; During quiet periods when the peak of requests for document distribution services has passed, relay communication does not occur between the facsimile storage and forwarding devices, and the status of the other facsimile storage and forwarding device becomes unknown. Therefore, the next time you need relay communication, you will be able to check the status of the facsimile storage and forwarding device of the other party making the relay request.For example, if a failure occurs in the other party's storage and forwarding device had the drawback that it would be impossible to distribute data to all the terminals managing the facsimile storage and forwarding device in which the failure occurred, which would have a serious impact on the entire system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention aims to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks by constantly grasping the status of other facsimile storage and forwarding devices, quickly detecting failures in the other facsimile storage and forwarding devices, and taking appropriate measures. To provide a facsimile store-and-forward communication system that can perform The purpose is to

Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides a facsimile storage and forwarding communication system including a plurality of facsimile storage and forwarding devices that manage a plurality of facsimile devices.
a clocking means for counting a predetermined time from the end of transmission of the image information of \; and a monitoring transmitting means for transmitting image information for monitoring to the other facsimile storage and forwarding device when the predetermined time has been counted by the clocking means. , the facsimile storage and forwarding device is provided with a determination means for determining the state of the other facsimile storage and forwarding device from the result of image information transmission to the other facsimile storage and forwarding device, and a notification means for notifying the determination result of the determination means. In the facsimile store-and-forward communication system of the present invention,
The timer of the facsimile storage and forwarding device measures a predetermined time from the time when the transmission of the image information to the other facsimile storage and forwarding device ends. The monitoring and transmitting means transmits image information for monitoring to the other facsimile storage and forwarding device when the predetermined time is counted by the clocking means. The determining means determines the state of the other facsimile storage and forwarding device from the result of transmitting the image information to the other facsimile storage and forwarding device. The notifying means notifies the determination result of the determining means.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the facsimile store-and-forward communication system of the present invention. 1a to 1n is a facsimile storage and forwarding device, and each facsimile storage and forwarding device has a central processing unit (CPU) 11, a communication control device 12, a magnetic disk 13, and a display section 14. Reference numeral 52 denotes a facsimile storage and forwarding device gla to 1n and a facsimile terminal. Line networks 3a to 3n interconnect the devices 3a to 3n, and 3a to 3n are facsimile machines serving as document input/output terminals of the facsimile storage and forwarding devices 1a to 1n.

22, the CPU II constitutes a timer, a monitoring and transmitting means, and a determining means, and the display unit 14 constitutes a notification means.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained. For example, terminal 3a
to the communication control device 12 of the facsimile storage and forwarding device 1a.
When the line connected to is dialed and the line is connected, the terminal 3a notifies the facsimile storage and forwarding device 1a of the secondary address (destination information) and then transmits the original (image information).

The CPU II of the facsimile storage and forwarding device 1a stores the secondary address and original document received by the communication control device 12 on the magnetic disk 13, analyzes the secondary address, creates management information for distribution, and transfers this to the image It is stored in the magnetic disk 13 in association with the information.

The CPU II of the facsimile storage and forwarding device 1a analyzes the management information for distribution stored in the magnetic disk 13, and processes the information from a terminal (for example, terminal 3) managed by another facsimile storage and forwarding device (for example, facsimile storage and forwarding device
If there is a delivery to the facsimile storage/exchange device 1n that manages this terminal, relay communication of the corresponding document is performed to the facsimile storage/exchange device 1n that manages this terminal.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing related to the relay communication in the CPU of the facsimile storage and forwarding device of this example. First, in step 201, the distribution management information in the magnetic disk 13 is analyzed to determine whether there is a document that needs to be relayed to another facsimile storage/exchange device. If there is not, the process proceeds to step 205. , if so, proceed to step 202. In step 202, the communication control device 12 dials the line to which the communication control device 12 of the facsimile storage and forwarding device to which the relay request is made is connected, and once the line is connected, the relay request information and the corresponding manuscript are relayed. Send to the destination facsimile storage and forwarding device. At this time, if the other party's facsimile storage and forwarding device is normal, the transmission result is sent from the other party's facsimile storage and forwarding device. Determine if it's finished! -1 If the process ends normally, the process returns to Step 201; if it ends abnormally, it is assumed that an abnormality has occurred in the other party's facsimile storage/exchange device, and the process proceeds to Step 204. In step 204, a message is displayed on the display unit 14 informing that a failure has occurred in the facsimile storage and forwarding device of the other party, and then the process returns to step 201.

On the other hand, if you proceed to Ste Knob 203, the monitoring timer (
After resetting the software timer (such as a software timer built in the CPt, :11) and setting it to start counting, the process advances to step 206. In step 206, the timer measures a predetermined period of time and waits for the monitoring time to arrive, and when the monitoring time arrives, the process proceeds to step 207.
Step 207 dials the line to which the communication control unit 12 of the facsimile storage and forwarding device that will not perform relay communication for the time being is connected. When the line is connected, the monitoring data is read from the magnetic disk 13 and then Correspondence system-
After transmitting from the device 12 to the corresponding facsimile storage/exchange device, the process proceeds to the step knob 203. Therefore, if the transmission of the monitoring data fails in the second case, the display section 14 displays the occurrence of a failure in the facsimile storage and forwarding device.

Each of the facsimile storage and forwarding devices 1a to 1n mutually monitors the status of the other facsimile storage and forwarding devices by performing the processing shown in FIG. Therefore,
The determination in step 201 as to whether there is a document to be relayed is made for each other facsimile storage and forwarding device whose status must be monitored. Therefore, the monitoring timer set in step 203 is There are as many as one-to-one correspondence to the facsimile storage and forwarding devices that monitor the status, and steps 205 to 207 and steps 203 to 204 are performed for each facsimile storage and forwarding device. According to the embodiment, if relay communication of documents to another facsimile storage and forwarding device does not occur, monitoring data is sent to the other facsimile storage and forwarding device periodically (for example, every 10 minutes), and this facsimile storage and forwarding device By monitoring the status of the facsimile storage and forwarding device, the status of the facsimile storage and forwarding device can be known at all times, and in particular, the occurrence of a failure in another facsimile storage and forwarding device can be known in advance and the failure can be detected in the facsimile storage and forwarding device. Since it is possible to quickly make arrangements for disconnection or recovery, highly reliable communication can be performed with the influence of the failure on the system being minimized.

In the above embodiment, monitoring data was sent in order to know the status of other facsimile storage and forwarding devices, but this does not necessarily need to be sent. A similar effect can be obtained by adopting a confirmation method in which the first move is determined to be normal and the line is disconnected at the time communication is made.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the facsimile storage and forwarding device of the present invention, the status of other facsimile storage and forwarding devices is always grasped, and a failure of the facsimile storage and forwarding device in the queue is quickly detected and countermeasures are taken. It can be carried out.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the facsimile store-and-forward communication system of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the CPU shown in FIG. 1a to 1n...Facsimile storage and exchange device 2...Line network 3a to 3n...Facsimile device 11...CPU 12...Communication control device 13...Magnetic disk agent Patent attorney Hon 1) Takashi Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a facsimile storage and forwarding communication system having a plurality of facsimile storage and forwarding devices that manage a plurality of facsimile devices, a timer for measuring a predetermined time from the end of transmission of image information to another facsimile storage and forwarding device;
monitoring and transmitting means for transmitting image information for monitoring to the other facsimile storage and forwarding device when the predetermined time has been counted by the timer; A facsimile storage and forwarding communication system, characterized in that the facsimile storage and forwarding device is equipped with a determining means for determining the state of the storing and forwarding device, and a notifying means for notifying the determination result of the determining means.