JPH05103133A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always control the sound volume of a line monitor confirming an audible signal sound showing a receivable state transmitted from a receiver side to an audible sound volume level easy to hear, to make it possible to surely and easily confirm the signal sound and to make the operability excellent, when a facsimile communication is performed. CONSTITUTION:After a line L is connected via an acoustic coupler and a monitor switch 8 is turned on, the initial value (N) of the sound volume level of a line monitor part 4 is set based on the noise level detected by an ambient sound level detection part 3. By starting a timer, whether the start operation of a facsimile communication is performed for a fixed time or not is monitored. By raising the monitor sound volume level of an audible signal sound of the line monitor part 4 to a level easy to hear by repeating the gradual raise of the sound volume level of the monitor if the start operation is not started, the start operation of the facsimile communication can be surely performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine, and more particularly to a facsimile machine having a line monitor function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, a portable facsimile apparatus can send an original document by using a public telephone or the like that is out of the office. Conventionally, in the case of manually transmitting an operation of this type of facsimile apparatus, an audible signal which informs that the operator on the transmission side is in a receivable state from the reception side using monitor means by connecting to the line through an acoustic coupler or the like After confirming the (CFR signal) sound, the start switch was pressed to start facsimile communication.

When an operator monitors the audible signal sound, the earpiece of a handset or a speaker of a line monitor incorporated in a facsimile is used. In particular, in the case of a portable facsimile apparatus that communicates via the acoustic coupler as described above, an audible signal sound is often confirmed only by a line monitor, and the volume level of the monitor is kept constant.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional facsimile apparatus, since the volume level at the time of monitoring the audible signal sound is constant, when the first signal sound is difficult to hear. Similarly, it was difficult to hear the second and third signal tones, and there was a problem that facsimile communication would not be started forever.
Therefore, the operator can manually adjust using the volume of the monitor means, but it is troublesome.

Further, in the conventional facsimile apparatus, when the audible signal sound is monitored by using the monitor means, the proper volume level of the monitor means is influenced by the ambient noise level. Therefore, if the volume level of the monitor is constant, it becomes more difficult to hear the audible signal sound as the noise level increases, and when manually adjusting the volume level, the adjustment work is forced according to the surrounding situation. was there.

Further, in the conventional facsimile apparatus, since the voice output from the monitor means is automatically switched to the handset side after the end of the facsimile communication, in order to confirm whether or not the other party is talking after the end of the communication. There was a problem that I had to put my handset on my ear and check it. The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and when performing facsimile communication, the volume of the line monitor for checking the audible signal sound indicating the receivable state sent from the receiver side is always set to An object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile apparatus which is controlled to a volume level that is easy to hear and can confirm a signal sound reliably and easily and which has good operability.

[0007]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A line monitor means for monitoring the audible signal sound on the line and varying the volume level of the monitor sound, a signal detecting means for detecting a called terminal identification signal sent from the other party, and the called terminal identification After the detection of the signal, a starting operation determining means for determining whether or not the starting operation of the facsimile communication is performed within a fixed time, and after the calling terminal identification signal is detected when the starting operation is not performed within the fixed time. Volume level control means for continuously or stepwise increasing the volume level of the line monitoring means from the initial value in accordance with the elapsed time, and monitoring while controlling the volume level of the audible signal sound of facsimile communication. Characterize.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided ambient sound level detection means for detecting the volume level of the ambient sound, and the initial value of the volume level of the line monitor means is determined based on the volume level of the ambient sound. Characterize. The invention according to claim 3 is provided with monitor switching means for switching and connecting the line monitoring means to the telephone side or the facsimile side, and the monitor switching means connects to and monitors the facsimile side during facsimile communication, and after the communication is completed. Is characterized by switching from the facsimile side to the telephone side and monitoring for a certain period of time.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, after the detection of the called terminal identification signal sent from the receiving side, if the activation operation of the facsimile communication is not performed within a fixed time, the progress after the called terminal identification signal is detected. The volume level of the line monitor means is continuously or stepwise increased from the initial value according to the time. Therefore, even if the volume level of the line monitor means is low, or the surrounding noise level is high and it is difficult to hear,
Since the volume level is gradually increased until the facsimile communication activation operation is performed, the signal sound from the receiving side can be heard at an appropriate volume level. Therefore, the operator on the transmission side can perform a reliable transmission operation without losing the timing of the start operation of the facsimile communication.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the ambient noise level is detected, and the initial value of the volume level of the line monitor is determined based on this noise level. For this reason, the line monitor is adjusted to a volume level that is easy to hear according to the ambient noise level, so that the audible signal sound can be monitored reliably and promptly. According to the third aspect of the invention, the line monitor is connected to the facsimile side for monitoring during the facsimile communication, and after the communication is completed, the line monitor is switched from the facsimile side to the telephone side for monitoring for a fixed time.
Therefore, the operator on the transmitting side can easily grasp the communication status only by the line monitor.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the facsimile apparatus according to this embodiment includes a system control unit 1, an operation display unit 2, an ambient sound level detection unit 3,
It is composed of a line monitor unit 4 and a network control unit 5.

The system controller 1 has a built-in CPU and a timer and controls the entire facsimile.
Specifically, after detecting the called terminal identification signal (CED signal) from the receiving side, a timer measures a certain period of time to determine whether or not a facsimile communication start operation is performed (start operation determination If the activation operation is not performed within a fixed time, the volume level of the line monitor means is continuously or stepwise increased from the initial value according to the elapsed time after the detection of the called terminal identification signal (volume level). Control means).

In the operation display section 2, various input operations are performed by the operator based on the display. The ambient sound level detection unit 3 detects the noise level around the main body of the facsimile apparatus (ambient sound level detection means), converts the noise level into a digital signal, and C of the system control unit 1 described above.
Input to PU. The line monitor unit 4 monitors the audible signal sound on the line and outputs it to the speaker, and the volume level of the monitor sound can be controlled by the system control unit 1 (line monitor unit).

The network control section 5 connects a telephone line, an acoustic coupler, etc. to the facsimile machine to execute facsimile communication, and has a signal detecting means. Further, FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing the network control unit and the line monitoring unit of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the signal detection unit (signal detection means) 6 connected to the line L detects the CED signal from the receiving side, which informs the receiving side that it is in the receivable state.

The telephone / facsimile selector switch 7 is
The facsimile device and the telephone are switched to connect to the line L. When the transmission side operator starts the transmission operation of the facsimile apparatus, the telephone side is switched to the facsimile side and normal facsimile communication is performed. The monitor switch 8 is used when the facsimile machine is connected to a telephone through an acoustic coupler.
A switch for forming a loop.

The monitor section changeover switch 9 switches the line monitor section 4 between the telephone side and the facsimile side.
At the same time when the facsimile transmission operation is started and the telephone / facsimile selector switch 7 is switched from the telephone side to the facsimile side, the line monitor section 4 is also switched from the telephone side to the facsimile side by the monitor section selector switch 9.

The volume level changeover switches 10 and 11 are switched to change the combination of the resistors R2 to R5,
The gain of the amplifier 12 is changed to control the volume level output from the monitor speaker 13 of the line monitor 4. Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, first, step 10 is performed.
When the number is 0, the telephone line is used to establish a line connection with the facsimile transmission partner. Then, in step 101, it is detected whether or not the acoustic coupler is connected, and if it is connected, the monitor switch 8 is turned on in step 102,
Form a loop. Then, in step 103, FIG.
The ambient sound level detection unit 3 shown in detects the ambient noise level of the facsimile body and converts it into a digital signal,
Input to the CPU of the system control unit 1. Step 104
Then, so that the monitor sound is not turned off by the noise, CP
U determines the initial value N of the volume level of the line monitor unit 4 based on the digital signal, and sends a control signal to the line monitor unit 4. Specifically, the volume level changeover switches 10 and 11 shown in FIG. 2 are changed over by a control signal to combine the resistors R2 to R5 of the line monitor unit 4 so that the amplifier 12 is set to have a predetermined gain.

Step 105 is C from the line L in FIG.
If the signal detector 6 does not detect the ED signal, step 10
Returning to step 3, if detected, the process proceeds to step 106 to judge the on / off state of the monitor switch 8. When the monitor switch 8 is on, the timer T1 included in the control circuit 1 is started in step 108. If the monitor switch 8 is not turned on in step 106,
After turning on in step 107, the process proceeds to step 108.

If the operator has not performed a start operation of facsimile communication in step 109, it is monitored in step 110 whether the start operation has been performed for t seconds. If the start operation is not performed even after t seconds have passed, it is determined that the volume level is hard to hear by the operator, and the volume level switch 1 is set so that the monitor volume level becomes equal to or higher than the volume level set in step 103.
By switching 0 and 11, the volume level of the monitor is set to (N + 1) in step 111, and the gain of the amplifier 12 is increased.

Next, at step 112, it is judged again whether or not there is a start operation, and the monitoring is continued for a further t seconds and 2 t.
It is determined whether or not a start operation has been performed for a second (step 113). If the start operation is not performed even after 2 t seconds have passed, in step 114, the amplifier 1 of the line monitor unit 4 is operated.
To increase the gain of 2, the volume level switch 10,
11 to switch the monitor level to (N + 2),
The gain of the amplifier 12 is increased to raise the volume level.

Then, in step 115, it is judged again whether or not the start operation is performed, and the monitoring is continued for t seconds, and 3
It is determined whether or not there is a start operation for t seconds (step 116). During this time, if the operator performs a start operation in steps 109, 112, and 115, the process proceeds to step 117, and the monitor section changeover switch 9 is used to switch the line monitor section 4 from the telephone side to the facsimile side. In step 118, facsimile communication is started.

When this facsimile communication is completed, or when the start operation is not performed even after 3 t seconds have passed in step 116, the disconnection command signal (DCN signal) from the other party is sent to the signal detector 6 in step 119. When it is detected by, the telephone / facsimile selector switch 7 switches the line L.
Is switched from the facsimile side to the telephone side, and at step 120, the monitor section changeover switch 9 switches the line monitoring section 4 from the facsimile side to the telephone side to continue the line monitoring.

At this time, the timer T2 is started in step 121, and the line is monitored for a fixed time (n seconds) necessary to confirm whether or not there is a talk from the other party (step 122). Monitor switch 8 OF
F (step 123). As described above, the facsimile apparatus of the present embodiment, when performing facsimile communication,
The audible signal sound indicating the receivable state sent from the receiver side can be constantly monitored at a volume level that is easy to hear without being affected by the ambient noise level.

Further, even if the other party talks after the facsimile communication, the line monitor section keeps monitoring for a certain period of time, so that it is not necessary to lift the handset, and a facsimile apparatus having good operability can be obtained.

[0026]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the volume level of the line monitor means is continuously or stepwise increased from the initial value according to the elapsed time after the detection of the called terminal identification signal. For this reason, even if the volume level of the line monitor is low or the surrounding noise level is high and it is difficult to hear,
The volume level is gradually increased until it can be heard, and the audible signal sound is monitored at a volume level that is easy to hear, so that facsimile communication can be reliably performed without losing the timing of the start operation.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the initial value of the volume level of the line monitor is determined based on the ambient noise level, the audible signal sound can be monitored quickly and reliably. According to the third aspect of the invention, since the line monitor unit monitors for a certain time even after the end of the facsimile communication,
After the communication is completed, the operator on the transmitting side can easily grasp the communication status only by the line monitor, together with the presence or absence of a call from the other party.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a network control unit and a line monitoring unit in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the facsimile apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 system control section (starting operation determination means, volume level control means) 2 operation display section 3 ambient sound level detection section (ambient sound level detection means) 4 line monitor section (line monitor means) 5 network control section 6 signal detection section ( Signal detection means)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An audio signal tone on a line is monitored, and
Line monitor means for varying the volume level of the monitor sound, signal detection means for detecting the called terminal identification signal sent from the other party, and facsimile communication within a fixed time after the detection of the called terminal identification signal Startup operation determining means for determining whether or not the startup operation has been performed, and if the startup operation is not performed within a fixed time, the volume of the line monitor means according to the elapsed time after detection of the called terminal identification signal. A facsimile apparatus comprising: a volume level control means for continuously or stepwise increasing a level from an initial value, and monitoring while controlling a volume level of an audible signal sound of facsimile communication. 2. An ambient sound level detecting means for detecting a volume level of an ambient sound is provided, and an initial value of the volume level of the line monitor means is determined based on the volume level of the ambient sound. The described facsimile machine. 3. A monitor switching means for switching and connecting the line monitoring means to a telephone side or a facsimile side, wherein the monitor switching means connects to the facsimile side for monitoring during facsimile communication, and after the communication is completed, the facsimile side. 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the facsimile machine is switched from the telephone to the telephone and is monitored for a certain period of time.