JPH05103144A - Facsimile device and external respondence unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the constitutions of a facsimile device itself and to improve the operabiliy and functionality as a personal facsimile by making a clock function within the facsimile to be a required minimum constitutions of only a clocking and performing an external attachment of a device for adjusting this time. CONSTITUTION:An external connection with a facsimile device provided with a clock module clocking date and time is performed for an external respondence unit 31 via a unused terminal of a connector 21 (shown by a oblique line in a diagram). An operation switch 51 as an operation module operates (adjusts) the time of the clock module. An indicator 51 as a display module displays the time clocked by the clock module.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a small and lightweight facsimile apparatus used for home, portable, vehicle-mounted, etc. and an external corresponding unit thereof, and particularly to a facsimile apparatus having a divided clock function and its external corresponding unit. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a facsimile apparatus, transmission source information such as the date and time of transmission, sender name, number of pages, etc. is added to a part of a transmission image at the time of transmission. As a conventional facsimile apparatus of this type, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
There is one described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 72469. The sender information is TTI (Transmitter Terminal Identificat).
Ion), and as shown in FIG. 8, is added and combined at the upper part or the lower part of the transmission image information. In such a facsimile apparatus, the date and time are measured and held by a dedicated LSI provided inside.

Further, in the facsimile apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-128278, a structure is disclosed in which communication records are managed in time order according to the date and time internally measured, and the communication management records are reported later. ing.
Further, depending on the model of the facsimile machine, there are those that print out an error report, a communication result report, and the like, and these are also usually arranged and reported in chronological order.

According to such a facsimile apparatus, it is possible to manage the communication record of the transmission / reception of the document on a time basis and to confirm the history of the facsimile use. By the way, in recent years, facsimile machines have become smaller, lighter, and cheaper, and are increasingly used at home. In such a facsimile machine, it is attempted to realize a small size, a light weight, and a low price by reducing or simplifying the functions. For this reason, the operation panel is also devised to improve the operability, and the clock display function normally equipped in a general facsimile apparatus may be deleted. This is because there is no space to display the clock,
The main reason is to reduce the weight of parts related to the timepiece function and reduce the price.

In parallel with this, the popularity of mobile communication has increased in recent years, and the demand for connecting and using a facsimile apparatus to a mobile phone or a car phone has also increased. Even in such a facsimile machine, it is necessary to reduce the size of the facsimile machine so that the facsimile machine can be installed in a limited space in an automobile, and to make it light and easy to carry. Therefore, also in this case, the clock display function may be deleted for the same reason as above.

[0006]

However, in such a conventional facsimile apparatus, when the clock function is deleted, the time information of the date and the time cannot be used naturally, and the communication record is time-managed. There is a problem that you can not do it. In view of this, the invention according to claim 1 reduces the configuration of the facsimile device itself by providing the internal clock function of the facsimile with the minimum necessary configuration for clocking only and by externally providing a device for adjusting this time. Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide an external compatible unit that improves operability and functionality as a personal facsimile.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, by externally attaching all clock functions, the clock function of the facsimile apparatus itself can be reduced and the external unit of the facsimile apparatus which can input time information from the outside when necessary. Is intended to provide. Further, the invention according to claim 3 is
By transmitting clock information through the unused terminal of the telephone modular jack, an externally-supported unit that acts as a clock externally without adding a facsimile device without clock function or operation display function of clock information Is intended to provide.

According to the invention of claim 4, the clock function in the facsimile has a minimum necessary structure only for clocking,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus that reduces the configuration of the facsimile apparatus itself and improves operability and functionality as a personal facsimile by providing an external corresponding unit for adjusting the time.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an external correspondence unit according to the present invention is externally connected to a facsimile machine equipped with a clock module for clocking the date and time, and the above-mentioned clock. An operating module for operating the time of the module and a display module for displaying the time of the clock module are provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the external corresponding unit according to the invention of claim 2 is a timepiece module for clocking the date and time, an operation module for operating the time of the timepiece module, and the timepiece. A display module for displaying the time of the module, and the clock information of the clock module is input to the facsimile device from the outside.

Further, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the external corresponding unit according to the invention of claim 3 transmits the clock information of the clock module through an unused terminal of the telephone modular jack. .. Further, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a facsimile machine according to a fourth aspect of the present invention includes a clock module for operating and displaying date and time clock information by the external corresponding unit according to the first aspect, and a clock module. And a service execution unit that executes various services using the clock information of the clock module.

[0012]

In the invention having the above-mentioned structure, the external corresponding unit is connected to the facsimile apparatus provided with the timepiece module for measuring the date and time, and the timepiece is operated by the operation module provided in the external corresponding unit. By operating the time of the module, the time of the clock module is displayed on the display module.

Further, in the invention of the second aspect having the above-mentioned structure, a clock module for clocking the date and time, an operation module for operating the time of the clock module, and a display module for displaying the time of the clock module. And an external corresponding unit including the above are connected to the facsimile device, and the clock information of the clock module is externally input to the facsimile device.

Further, in the invention having the above structure, the clock information of the clock module is transmitted through the unused terminal of the telephone modular jack. Further, in the invention of claim 4 having the above configuration, the clock information of the date and time of the clock module is operated and displayed by the external corresponding unit of claim 1, and the service is performed using the clock information of the clock module. Various services are executed by the execution unit.

[0015]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described below based on examples.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the facsimile apparatus according to the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 4, and FIG.
Is a system configuration diagram, and FIG. 1B is a basic configuration diagram of the line control unit.

In FIG. 7A, the scanner 11 reads image information at a predetermined resolution. The plotter 12 records and prints an image on recording paper at the same resolution as the scanner 11.
The encoding / decoding unit 13 encodes the image information to be transmitted by a predetermined method and compresses the information amount, and restores the encoded received image information to the original image information. Communication control unit 1
4 transmits and receives image information according to a predetermined transmission control procedure. The modem 15 modulates and demodulates image information data and protocol data. The network control unit 16 is connected to the line L and performs predetermined signal detection and transmission. The operation display unit 17 is provided with various operation keys and a display device to communicate with the operator. The system controller 18 controls the entire facsimile apparatus according to a predetermined program.

FIG. 7B shows the basic configuration of the line control unit composed of the modem 15 and the network control unit 16. The network control unit 16 is connected via a connector (modular jack) 21.
It is connected to the line L and the telephone TEL. In addition, the network control unit 16 uses the ringing signal (RINGING) from the line L,
The control signal (TEL / FAX) of the relay that switches TEL / FAX is input / output. Ringing signal
The control signal (TEL / FAX) is input / output to / from the facsimile machine through the I / O port 22.

Here, the connector 21 uses two wires per one, but actually, as shown in FIG. 4, four wires can be accommodated by four pins (terminals). This unused pin is provided as a spare and is not used except in special cases, such as a call from a telephone in another room using a home telephone. Therefore, the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention is configured to transmit the clock information via the unused terminal of the connector 21, and as shown in the connection example of FIG. The function of displaying and operating the clock information is performed externally. As a result, various services using time information, such as the TTI, time recording for copy image information, communication record report, error report, etc., can be performed in the facsimile device 32 that does not have a clock function or an operation display function of clock information. become.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an external corresponding unit of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention described in any one of claims 1, 3, and 4. In addition, FIG.
3A and 3B are configuration diagrams showing a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention described in any one of 3 and 4, FIG. 1A is a configuration diagram of a line control unit thereof, and FIG. 1B is a configuration of a clock module thereof. It is a figure. Note that, in the present embodiment, the same components as those in the above-described example are designated by the same reference numerals, and their detailed description will be omitted.

First, the structure will be described. In FIG. 2A, the line control unit of the facsimile device 32 is the connector 2
A clock module 41 is provided between the I / O port 22 and the I / O port 22. This clock module 41 is operated and displayed by the external corresponding unit 31 shown in FIG. Further, by using the clock information of the clock module 41, the system control unit 18 shown in FIG.
As a service execution unit, executes various services such as the TTI.

The internal structure of the clock module 41 is shown in FIG.
It is shown in (b). The clock module 41 calculates and holds the time, and the system controller 1 of the facsimile device 32.
8 and the external compatible unit 31. For this purpose, the clock module 41
Is a CPU 42, an oscillator 43, a ROM 44 in which a program for transmitting and receiving data between the facsimile device 32 and the external corresponding unit 31 is stored, and an RA in the work area.
An M45, a serial / parallel conversion module 46 for transmitting / receiving data, an I / O port 47 for detecting reset by the reset switch RS, a battery 48 for operating the clock module 41, and the like.

Next, referring to FIG. 1, the external corresponding unit 3
1 is externally connected to a facsimile device 32 equipped with a clock module 41 for measuring the date and time via an unused terminal (indicated by diagonal lines in the figure) of a connector 21. The operation switch 51 as an operation module operates (adjusts) the time of the timepiece module 41. The display 51 as a display module displays the time counted by the clock module 41. For this reason, the external corresponding unit 31 has an interface 53 for converting data transmitted / received to / from the facsimile device into serial / parallel.
An I / O port 54 for inputting a signal from the operation switch 51 and outputting display data to the display 52, a display driver 55, etc. are provided. In the figure, reference numeral 56 is a power supply for driving the external unit 31.

Next, the operation will be described. The external corresponding unit 31 is the clock module 4 inside the facsimile device 32.
It is controlled by serial data TXD2 and RXD2 in synchronization with the synchronization clock CK2 from 1. The serial data TXD2 is clock information output from the clock module 41, and the serial data RXD2 is setting information for adjusting (operating) the clock information of the clock module 41.

The clock module 41 always measures the present time based on the adjusted time, and responds to the time reading request from the facsimile device 32 side. Further, the data RXD2 output from the clock module 41 is display data for the display 52, is input to the interface 53, performs serial / parallel conversion, decodes the data to obtain a number to be displayed, and I
/ O port 54 and display driver 55, then display 5
It is displayed in 2.

On the other hand, in the operation (time adjustment) from the external compatible unit 31, the switch information from the operation switch 51 is encoded by the interface 53 via the I / O port 51, parallel / serial conversion is performed, and a clock is generated. The data TXD2 is written in the module 41. In addition,
The external corresponding unit 31 has a battery 56 inside and is not supplied with power from the facsimile device 32 side.

As described above, the external unit 31 of this embodiment is externally connected to the facsimile device 32 equipped with the clock module 41 for measuring the date and time, and operates the clock module 41 and displays the time. Therefore, the internal clock function of the facsimile can be set to the minimum necessary configuration only for clocking, the configuration of the facsimile device 32 itself can be reduced, and the operability and functionality as a personal facsimile can be improved.

Further, in the external corresponding unit 31 of the present embodiment, since the clock information is transmitted through the unused terminal of the telephone connector 21 and the operation display function of the clock information is performed on behalf, the connector is provided to the facsimile device 32. There is no need to add more, and the operability and functionality of the facsimile machine are not impaired. Further, the facsimile device 32 of the present embodiment
In the case of the clock module 41, the external correspondence unit 31 operates and displays the clock information of the date and time.
And a service execution unit for executing various services using the clock information of the clock module, the external corresponding unit 31 needs to be connected only when operating, but when actually used, the facsimile device 32 is used. A single unit is sufficient, and the internal clock function of the facsimile is configured to be the minimum necessary configuration only for clocking, and the operability and functionality of the facsimile device can be improved.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment according to the invention described in claim 2. FIG. 3 (a) is a block diagram showing the facsimile apparatus, and FIG. 3 (b) is its external corresponding unit. It is a block diagram. Note that, in the present embodiment, the same components as those in the above-described example are designated by the same reference numerals, and their detailed description will be omitted. In FIG. 3, the I / O port 22 transmits the clock information input from the external corresponding unit 61 of this embodiment to the system control unit 18. Therefore, the facsimile device 62 of this embodiment has all of the clock function externally. The external correspondence unit 61 includes a timepiece module 41 similar to that provided on the facsimile side in the above-described embodiment, an operation switch 51, and a display 52.

In the present embodiment having the above-mentioned structure, the clock information is input to the facsimile device 62 from the external corresponding unit 61 via the connector 21. For this,
The external correspondence unit 61 includes a clock module 41,
The clock information is operated by the operation switch 51, and the display 5
Display by 2. Here, the external correspondence unit 61
Can be considered as a commercially available timepiece module having a data transmission / reception function with the facsimile device 62.
With this configuration, the number of batteries 48 may be one,
Since the user who needs the clock function can be added later, the functionality is good and the purchase cost of the facsimile device 62 alone can be reduced.

As described above, in the external unit 61 of this embodiment, the clock function of the facsimile device 62 itself is deleted by externally attaching the clock function, and time information is input from the outside as necessary. Because it can be small,
A lightweight and low-priced facsimile device can be configured, a time display request can be satisfied, and operability and functionality can be improved.

In this embodiment as well, as in the previous embodiment, the facsimile device 6 is connected to the unused terminal of the connector 21.
In this example, only the time read command from the system control unit 18 and the corresponding time data signal line are allocated. As a result, the configuration of the facsimile device 62 is simplified and the cost can be reduced. FIG. 6 shows the image information at the time of transmission in the facsimile apparatus of the present embodiment.
It is a flow chart which shows a processing procedure at the time of adding TI. First, if communication is started and transmission is started (step S
1) It is confirmed whether or not there is the clock module 41 (step S2), and if there is, the clock information of the date and time is read from the clock module 41 (step S3). Next, the date and time are added to the transmitted image and combined (step S4), and the combined image is transmitted as image information (step S5).

[0032]

As described above, according to the external corresponding unit of the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention, the external corresponding unit is connected to the facsimile apparatus provided with the clock module for measuring the date and time, Since the time of the timepiece module is operated by the operation module provided in this external compatible unit and the time of the timepiece module is displayed on the display module, the timepiece function inside the facsimile should be the minimum necessary configuration only for timing. Therefore, the configuration of the facsimile apparatus itself can be reduced and the operability and functionality as a personal facsimile can be improved.

According to the external corresponding unit of the facsimile apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention, the clock module for clocking the date and time, the operation module for operating the time of the clock module, and the time of the clock module. Since a display module for displaying and an external compatible unit including the above are connected to the facsimile device and the clock information of the clock module is input to the facsimile device from the outside,
By deleting the clock function of the facsimile device itself, a compact, lightweight, and low-priced facsimile device can be configured, the time display request can be met, and operability and functionality can be improved.

According to the external corresponding unit of the facsimile apparatus of the third aspect of the invention, since the clock information of the clock module is transmitted through the unused terminal of the telephone modular jack, a connector is added to the facsimile apparatus. There is no need to do so, and the operability and functionality of the facsimile device are not impaired. Further, according to the facsimile apparatus of the invention described in claim 4, the clock information of the date and time of the clock module is operated and displayed by the external corresponding unit described in claim 1, and the clock information of this clock module is used. Since various services are executed by the service execution unit, the internal clock function of the facsimile can be made to have a minimum necessary configuration only for timing, and the operability and functionality of the facsimile apparatus can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an external corresponding unit of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention described in any one of claims 1, 3, and 4.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention described in any one of claims 1, 3, 4;
FIG. 7A is a block diagram of the line control unit, and FIG. 8B is a block diagram of the clock module.

3A and 3B are configuration diagrams showing an embodiment according to the invention described in claim 2, FIG. 3A is a configuration diagram showing the facsimile machine, and FIG. 3B is a configuration diagram showing an external corresponding unit. Is.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing terminals of a telephone modular jack.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of connection between a facsimile apparatus of the present embodiment and an external compatible unit.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when adding a TTI to image information at the time of transmission in the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus according to the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 4, FIG. 7A is a system configuration diagram thereof, and FIG. 7B is a line control thereof. It is a basic block diagram of a part.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a TTI display example of date and time.

[Explanation of symbols]

 18 System Control Section (Service Execution Section) 21 Connector (Modular Jack) 31,61 External Corresponding Unit 32,62 Facsimile Machine 41 Clock Module 51 Operation Switch (Operation Module) 52 Display (Display Module)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An operation module externally connected to a facsimile apparatus having a clock module for measuring date and time, for operating the time of the clock module, and a display module for displaying the time of the clock module. An externally compatible unit for a facsimile machine. 2. A clock module for measuring date and time,
An external of the facsimile device, comprising: an operation module for operating the time of the clock module; and a display module for displaying the time of the clock module, and inputting the clock information of the clock module to the facsimile device from the outside. Corresponding unit. 3. An external unit for a facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the clock information of the clock module is transmitted through an unused terminal of the telephone modular jack. 4. A clock module for operating and displaying clock information of date and time by an external corresponding unit of the facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, and executing various services using the clock information of this clock module. A facsimile apparatus comprising: a service execution unit.