JPH04372267A - Facsimile equipment having standby mode automatic changeover function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To select the telephone standby mode or the facsimile standby mode respectively when a prescribed condition is established in the setting state of the telephone standby mode or the facsimile standby mode in the facsimile equipment in which the telephone standby mode or the facsimile standby mode is manually set. CONSTITUTION:The facsimile equipment is provided with an incoming call/ incoming call count means 10 detecting an incoming call and an incoming call signal within a prescribed time and repeating the count and a line interrupt means 11 interrupting forcibly a connected telephone line, and when a signal processing section 1 does not receive a call from a caller and the incoming call/incoming call count means 10 counts a prescribed incoming call number, the facsimile standby mode is selected and when the line interrupt means 11 repeats the line interrupt operation after the arrival of an automatic incoming call and the line interrupt means 11 repeats the line interruption and the incoming call/incoming call count means 10 counts a prescribed number of times of the incoming call, the telephone standby mode is selected.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a facsimile machine equipped with a telephone.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, facsimile machines have been known that allow manual switching between a telephone standby mode and a facsimile standby mode. Even if a facsimile is sent, if there is no one on the receiving end, the mode cannot be switched to facsimile standby mode, so the call cannot be received. If you receive a call, it will automatically receive the call, but if there is no one on the receiving end,
Since it is not possible to switch to telephone standby mode, there is a problem that calls cannot be made to the telephone, and especially when the facsimile is set to silent incoming calls at night, etc., it is not possible to even know that there are calls to the telephone. There was such a problem.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances.Even in a facsimile machine in which a standby mode can be manually set, if a predetermined number of calls or calls are received within a certain period of time, The present invention aims to provide a facsimile device having a novel configuration that enables facsimile reception and telephone calls even when no one is present by automatically reversing the standby mode when a person is present.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention proposed to achieve the above object is an incoming call/incoming call counting means that detects incoming calls and incoming calls within a certain period of time and repeats the counting. and line disconnection means for forcibly disconnecting the connected telephone line, and when the counting means counts a predetermined number of incoming calls without receiving calls from the calling party, the system enters facsimile standby mode. On the other hand, when the counting means counts a predetermined number of incoming calls by repeating the line cutting operation by the line cutting means after an automatic call has been received,
The configuration includes a signal processing section that switches to telephone standby mode.

[0005]

[Function] In the facsimile device of the present invention, when in the telephone standby mode, even if there is an incoming call (a ringing signal from the calling party is detected), the facsimile machine cannot automatically receive the call unless the receiver picks up the handset of the telephone. In addition, in the facsimile standby mode, if there is an incoming call, the basic operation is to automatically receive the call. Therefore, if the caller receives a facsimile call and there is no one on the receiving end when the telephone standby mode is manually set, the facsimile machine cannot receive the call even if it receives the call. Therefore, incoming calls are repeated a predetermined number of times within a predetermined period of time. However, in the present invention, when such incoming calls are repeated and the count value by the incoming call/incoming call counting means reaches a predetermined number of times, the signal processing section switches from the telephone standby mode to the facsimile standby mode. facsimile transmissions can be received for incoming calls. With traditional facsimile machines,
In such a case, facsimile transmissions cannot be received.

[0006] Furthermore, when the facsimile standby mode is manually set and the calling party calls the telephone, the facsimile machine receives the call and automatically receives the call. Therefore, it is not possible to communicate procedure signals according to a predetermined protocol necessary for establishing facsimile reception. Therefore, in the present invention, the signal processing section operates the line disconnection means,
Cut off the connected line. As a result, the line connecting the calling party and the facsimile machine is cut off. Then, when the calling party calls the facsimile machine of the present invention again, the call is automatically received again, but at this time as well, the signal processing section operates the line disconnection means to cut off the connected line, as described above.

However, if these operations are repeated and the same call reception and line disconnection are repeated within a certain period of time after the first call arrives, and the count value of the incoming call/incoming call counting means reaches a predetermined number of times, the signal is Since the processing section switches from the facsimile standby mode to the telephone standby mode, the telephone can be used for subsequent calls. Conventional facsimile machines cannot make calls to the telephone in such cases. In addition, in the present invention, in these operations, the number of incoming calls and the number of incoming calls by the incoming call/incoming call counting means are counted only within a certain period of time, and the number of incoming calls and the number of incoming calls are counted only within a certain period of time. After that time, it will be reset.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

In the figure, a facsimile machine F of the present invention is shown.
1 includes a signal processing unit 1 which includes a CPU that has a timer function and performs signal processing necessary for sending and receiving facsimiles, and a line control unit that switches and connects a telephone 2 and a modem 3 to a telephone line L. A memory unit 5 consisting of a ROM 5a and a RAM 5b that store data and control programs necessary to execute the functions of the facsimile machine F; an image reading unit 6 that reads image data from a document, etc.; The configuration includes a printout section 7 that prints out the image data read and scanned by the reading section 6 on recording paper, a display section 8, and a key operation section 9 including a switch 9a for switching between telephone standby mode and facsimile standby mode. In addition, it is provided with an incoming call/incoming call counting means 10 that detects a ringing signal and an incoming call and counts the number of such calls, and a line disconnecting means 11 that forcibly cuts off the connected telephone line after receiving an incoming call. Note that SP is a calling bell that rings when a calling signal is detected. In the present invention, the signal processing unit 1 determines the standby mode set by the standby mode changeover setting switch 9a, as described later, according to a preset control program, and determines the count value of the incoming call/incoming call counting means 10. The standby mode can be switched by referring to .

Next, the mode switching control operation executed by the signal processing section 1 in the present invention will be explained. In the present invention, when the signal processing unit 1 determines that the telephone standby mode is set by the standby mode changeover setting switch 9a, for example, step 100 of FIG.
A control program as shown in steps 114 to 114 is executed. In the initial reset, the timer in the signal processing section 1 is reset, and the count value n of the incoming call/incoming call counting means 10 is set to the initial value 0 (see steps 101 and 102). When the calling party makes a dial call in this state, a 16 Hz ringing signal is sent from the exchange (not shown) to the telephone line L, causing the incoming call ringing bell SP to ring. The signal processing unit 1 determines this incoming call operation and sets a timer within the signal processing unit 1 (see steps 103 and 104). However, at this time, the facsimile machine is set to telephone standby mode, so even if there is an incoming call, the call cannot be received unless the handset of telephone 2 is picked up. Each time the paging bell SP rings, the incoming call/incoming call counting means 10 increments the number of incoming calls n (see steps 105 and 106).

[0011] In response to such a calling operation from the calling side, the facsimile machine repeatedly receives the call without receiving the call, and when the count value n of the call/incoming call counting means 10 reaches a predetermined value N, the signal processing section 1 switches from the telephone standby mode to the facsimile standby mode, and at this time, the standby mode changeover setting switch 9a is also switched to the facsimile standby mode position (see steps 107 to 109). At this time, by ringing a switching notification bell, it can be easily determined that the mode has been switched to facsimile standby mode. Furthermore, if the calling party is a facsimile machine, if a signal for facsimile reception is returned at this point, facsimile reception can be performed without waiting for the next call from the calling party. In addition, immediately after the above count value reaches a predetermined value, when it is detected that the line has been disconnected (when the calling party rings a predetermined number of times in a row), or when the caller rings continuously a predetermined number of times, or The mode may be switched when it is detected that the caller has made a call and hung up the handset a predetermined number of times in succession.

On the other hand, however, when the facsimile machine receives a call from the calling party and picks up the handset of the telephone 2 to receive the call, if the calling party is using a telephone, the call can be made as is. When the call is finished, the receiver is hung up and the line is disconnected (steps 105 to 113).
(see Steps 105 to 116), even if you pick up the handset of telephone 2 and receive a call, if the calling party is using a facsimile machine, you will not be able to make a call, but if you press the start button, facsimile communication will be possible (see steps 105 to 116). ). Note that when the call ends and the line is disconnected, or when the line disconnection means 1
After the line to which No. 1 is connected is forcibly disconnected and the standby mode changeover setting switch 9a is switched to the facsimile standby mode position, the control program returns to the initial reset operation (steps 113, 114, 109 to 10
(see 1). Further, the timer in the signal processing unit 1 is reset after a predetermined time, and n is also set to zero at that time, so that the incoming call/incoming call counting means 10 repeatedly counts the number of incoming calls at regular intervals. , the program is started from the initial state after a certain period of time (see steps 110-101).

Next, steps 200 to 215 in FIG. 3 illustrate the operation of the facsimile apparatus of the present invention when it is set in facsimile standby mode. In the initial reset, the timer in the signal processing unit 1 is reset, and the number of incoming calls n'
is also set to an initial value of 0 (see steps 201 and 202). When the calling party makes a dial call in this state, a 16 Hz calling signal is sent from the exchange (not shown) to the telephone line L, and the facsimile machine receives the call. At this time, the facsimile machine is set to facsimile standby mode, so if it detects a ring signal, it will automatically receive the call.
At this time, a timer is set (steps 203 to 20).
5).

[0014] When a call is automatically received in this way, the incoming call/
The incoming call counting means 10 increments the number of incoming calls n', and if the calling party is a facsimile machine, the facsimile is received, the received image data is printed out on recording paper, and then the line is disconnected ( Step 207-2
However, if the calling party is a telephone, the signal processing unit 1 activates the line disconnection means 11 to disconnect the connected line (steps 207→211→ 214, 215). This operation is repeated until the timer times out, and the count value n' of the incoming call/incoming call counting means 10 reaches the predetermined number N'.
When reaching the facsimile standby mode, the signal processing section 1 switches from the facsimile standby mode to the telephone standby mode, and at this time, the standby mode changeover setting switch 9a is also reversed to the facsimile standby mode (see steps 207 to 211, 212, and 213). In addition, by ringing a switching notification bell at this time, it is easy to determine that the mode has been switched to telephone standby mode.If the calling party is using a telephone, if the receiver is picked up at this point, the calling party It is also possible to make a call without waiting for the next call.

Note that when facsimile reception is completed and the line is disconnected, or after switching to telephone standby mode and the mode selector switch is switched to telephone standby mode, the control program returns to the initial reset operation (step 210). , 213-201). Further, the timer in the signal processing section 1 is reset after a predetermined time and n' is also set to zero at that time, so the incoming call/incoming call counting means 10
The counting of the number of incoming calls is repeated at fixed time intervals, and after a fixed time the program is restarted from the initial state (see steps 214 to 201).

According to the present invention, when the facsimile machine is set to the telephone standby mode, a predetermined number of calls are received (detection of a ringing signal) within a certain period of time without receiving any calls. Then, the call destination is determined to be a facsimile, and the mode is automatically switched to facsimile standby mode, so that facsimile reception becomes possible. Additionally, if the facsimile device receives a call when it is set to facsimile standby mode, but the call is received a predetermined number of times within a certain period of time without being able to receive the facsimile, it will determine that the called party is a telephone, and Since the device is automatically switched to telephone standby mode, it is possible to make a call to the telephone.

[0017]

As can be understood from the above explanation, the present invention has a configuration in which the telephone standby mode and the facsimile standby mode are mutually reversed when a predetermined number of calls or incoming calls are received within a certain period of time. Therefore, you can receive facsimile transmissions and telephone calls from the calling party without missing them.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

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 control operations in telephone standby mode.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control operations in facsimile standby mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Signal processing section 9a...Standby mode changeover setting switch 10...Incoming call/incoming call counting means 11...Line disconnection means SP...Paging bell

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] Incoming/incoming call counting means for detecting incoming calls within a certain period of time and repeating counting; line disconnecting means for forcibly disconnecting the connected telephone line; When the counting means counts a predetermined number of incoming calls in response to a call without receiving an incoming call, the mode is switched to facsimile standby mode, and after the call is automatically received, the line disconnecting operation by the line disconnecting means is repeated and the counting means is activated. A facsimile machine having an automatic standby mode switching function including a signal processing unit that switches to a telephone standby mode when a predetermined number of incoming calls is counted.