JPH04369960A - Facsimile equipment with message sending/receiving function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the facsimile equipment capable of printing a simple message sent through the ten-key operation on a telephone set on a recording paper. CONSTITUTION:The facsimile equipment is provided with a message table 1 preliminarily registering the specific message according to a push tone signal, a signal processing part 2 decoding the push tone signal transferred through a telephone line L while referring to the message table 1, and a printing output means 4 printing the message corresponding to the push tone signal decoded by this signal processing part 2 on recording paper 3.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine having a novel configuration that can print out a simple message transmitted in the form of a touch tone signal from a calling party's telephone.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventional facsimile machines receive and print out signals such as image data sent from the calling facsimile machine, and image data is transmitted and received only between facsimile machines. It was designed to be carried out in For this reason, if a message to be transmitted is to be printed out on recording paper, a facsimile machine is also required on the calling side.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, when sending a message from outside, it is common to use a telephone to send a voice message, but if the called party is away or is not available, If you cannot leave the call, the message will not be sent, and even if the called party's telephone has an answering machine, the message cannot be sent unless the answering machine is set. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is capable of transmitting a specific message in the form of a push-tone signal from an ordinary telephone and printing it out on recording paper when the message is received. The purpose is to provide a facsimile machine with

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] A facsimile device of the present invention proposed to achieve the above object has a message table in which specific messages such as sentences frequently used in daily life are registered in correspondence with touch tone signals. When a touch tone signal is sent through the telephone line, the signal processing unit refers to the message table and decodes it, and the decoded message is printed on recording paper. ing.

[0005]

[Operation] According to the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, when a touch tone signal indicating a specific message is transmitted from the telephone of the calling party, the message table is referred to and decoded. Print out the recorded message on recording paper.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main structure of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the facsimile apparatus of the present invention has a message table 1 in which specific messages are registered in correspondence with touchtone signals, and a touchtone signal transmitted through a telephone line L. A signal processing unit 2 that refers to the message table 1 and decodes its contents; and a print output unit 4 that records on a recording paper 3 a message corresponding to the touch tone signal decoded by the signal processing unit 2.
The decoding by the signal processing section 2 is carried out by selecting one corresponding to the received touch tone signal from among the plurality of messages registered in advance in the message table 1. It has become. Note that 5 is a voice output means for outputting a reply message confirming the contents of the message transmitted from the calling side telephone, and is added as necessary.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the control operation of the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention. To explain the basic operation with reference to this flowchart, when a call arrives due to a paging signal from the calling party, the CN
A G signal (a unique signal sent by a facsimile machine at the beginning of communication, by which it is determined whether the calling party is a facsimile machine) is detected. When a CNG signal is detected at this time, the calling party is determined to be a facsimile machine, a handshake is performed according to a predetermined protocol, and the transmitted image data is then received by facsimile (steps 100 to 101).
102). However, if no CNG signal is detected within a predetermined period of time, it is determined that the calling party is a telephone, and a guidance signal is sent out. The guidance signal in this case may be a specific tone, but if the facsimile machine has a voice output means 5, it may output a voice message (
(See steps 101 to 104). That is, a voice message such as "You are now in message message mode, please enter your message" is sent to the telephone of the calling party. On the other hand, when a touch tone signal is sent from the calling party's telephone by operating the numeric keypad, etc., the message table 1 is referred to and the sent touch tone signal is decoded. . To send a touch tone signal when sending a message, use the numeric keypad, for example, and press "#", "1", "#"
``I'll be home late'', and ``#'', ``2'', and ``#'' can have meanings such as ``I'll call you again''. When such a message is sent from the calling party's telephone in the form of a touch tone signal, a message confirmation signal is sent back to the calling party's telephone to confirm the contents of the message (step 105-108). The message confirmation signal in this case may be a specific tone, but if the facsimile machine has a voice output means 5, it outputs a voice message. In response to such a confirmation message, the calling party's phone will:
Respond to the confirmation message by operating the numeric keypad, etc. For example, by operating the "#" and "0" keys, confirmation is indicated, and to cancel the contents of the message, for example, the "#" and "9" keys are operated. In this way, when confirmation is made by operating the "#" and "0" keys from the calling party's telephone, the decoded message is read out and printed out on the recording paper 3. Furthermore, when a confirmation message is sent, if neither confirmation nor cancellation signal is returned from the calling party's telephone, the message message is reconfirmed again, and such confirmation is continued for a certain period of time. After that, the program ends (see steps 107 to 112 above).

FIG. 3 shows an example of the use of a facsimile device having a message transmission function according to the present invention, in which a push tone signal is sent from a public telephone B to a facsimile device A in an answering house, and input operations on the numeric keypad 6 are performed. This shows a state in which the message sent by is being printed out on the recording paper 3.

[0009]

[Effects of the Invention] As can be understood from the above explanation, according to the facsimile device of the present invention, a specific message can be sent from a general telephone and printed out on recording paper, so that it can be printed out on recording paper. To easily and reliably transmit a message using a telephone.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the main part configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the basic operating procedure of the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of use of the facsimile device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

A...Facsimile machine L...Telephone line 1...Message table 2...Signal processing section 3... Recording paper 4...Print output means 5...Audio output means

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A message table in which a specific message to be conveyed is registered in advance in correspondence with a touch tone signal, and a touch tone signal transmitted through a telephone line, by referring to the message table. 1. A facsimile machine having a message message function, characterized in that it is equipped with a signal processing section for decoding, and a printout means for printing a message corresponding to the touchtone signal decoded by the signal processing section on recording paper.