JPH05110748A - Facsimile system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the facsimile system in which a one-touch dial or an abbreviation dialing function provided to a facsimile equipment are used even from a remote location. CONSTITUTION:A facsimile equipment 1 connecting to an external device 2 is provided with a dial storage section 121 storing a destination dial number corresponding to a one-touch dial number or an abbreviation dial number, a dialing execution section 122 making dialing based on stored data in the dial storage section 121 when the one-touch dial number or the abbreviation dial number is inputted, a PB tone signal identification section 123 identifying a PB tone signal sent from the external device 2 via an external connection interface 11, and a main control section 12 starting dialing by the dialing execution section 122 based on the one-touch dial number or the abbreviation dial number represented by the PB tone signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile system in which a one-touch dial or speed dial transmission function of a facsimile machine can be used from a remote location of the facsimile machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A one-touch dial or speed dial calling function is known as one of the additional functions of a facsimile machine.

This function is that the number of the destination terminal is registered in advance in a memory such as a RAM in the facsimile apparatus main body in association with a specific one-touch dial number or abbreviated dial number, and the one-touch dial number is input from the operation panel section. Or when there is a key input of the speed dial number,
It is a function of calling to the destination terminal based on the registration number in the RAM corresponding to the key input.

By using this function, the user does not need to input all dial numbers of the destination terminal when making a call, and can access the destination terminal with an extremely small number of dial input operations.

However, in the conventional facsimile apparatus of this type, the one-touch dial or speed dial transmission function is configured to be activated only by a key input from the operation panel of the facsimile apparatus.

For this reason, the user has to go to the installation place of the facsimile device one by one when trying to simplify the transmission operation as described above, and it is hard to say that there is sufficient convenience in operation. It was

[0007]

As described above, in the above-mentioned conventional facsimile apparatus, the one-touch dial or speed dial transmission function can be activated only by the key input operation from the operation panel section of the apparatus main body.
When a user tries to use the transmission function, he or she has to go to the facsimile machine without fail, and there is a problem in that it is not convenient in operation.

The present invention eliminates this problem and allows the one-touch dial or speed dial calling function of a facsimile machine to be used from a remote location of the facsimile machine, further improving the convenience of this type of calling function. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile system that can be used.

[0009]

A facsimile system according to the present invention comprises a facsimile device and an external device capable of generating a PB tone signal.
A storage means for storing the destination dial number corresponding to the one-touch dial number or the speed dial number, and a destination dial corresponding to the input dial number in the storage means when the one touch dial number or the speed dial number is input. Dialing executing means for dialing based on a number, an external connection interface for connecting the external device, and a PB tone signal identifying means for identifying a PB tone signal sent from the external device via the external connection interface. And dialing activation means for activating dialing by the dialing execution means based on the one-touch dial number or speed dial number indicated by the PB tone signal identified by the PB tone signal identification means. And

[0010]

In the facsimile system of the present invention, the PB tone signal transmitted from the external device is received by the facsimile apparatus via the external connection interface, and the received PB tone signal is identified by the PB tone signal identifying means.

If the PB tone signal indicates a one-touch dial number or an abbreviated dial number as a result of this identification, the dialing starting means transfers the dialing number to the dialing executing means. The destination dial number corresponding to the given dial number is read from the storage means and dialed.

As described above, in the present invention, the PB from the outside is
Since the function of recognizing a tone signal and executing one-touch dialing or speed dial transmission is added to the facsimile device, the facsimile device can be provided only by connecting a device capable of generating a PB tone signal to the outside of the facsimile device. One-touch dialing or speed dialing functions can be easily used from remote areas.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a facsimile system according to the present invention. A facsimile machine 1 connected to a line 3 and a PB tone signal generator arranged at a remote place of the facsimile machine 1 are shown. And the container 2.

In this embodiment, the connection of the PB tone signal generator 2 to the facsimile machine 1 is realized by wire via an external connection interface 11 provided in the facsimile machine 1.

In addition to the above, the facsimile apparatus 1 includes a main control unit 12, a modem unit 13 under control of the main control unit 12, a line control unit 14, an operation panel unit 15, a reading unit 16, an encoding unit 17,
A decoding unit 18 and a recording unit 19 are provided.

The main control unit 12 is composed of, for example, a microcomputer, and controls transmission / reception of image data via the modem unit 13, control of incoming / outgoing calls via the line control unit 14, a reading unit 16, and an encoding unit 17. The image information is read and the decoding unit 18 and the recording unit 19 record the image data information.

Among these controls, the line controller 1
Regarding call control via 4, the main control unit 12
A dial storage unit 121 that stores a one-touch dial number or a speed dial number, a dialing execution unit 122 that executes dialing such as a one-touch dial or a speed dial call according to a key input at the time of calling, and a PB tone signal generator. There is provided a PB tone signal identifying section 123 for identifying the PB tone signal given from the signal No. 2.

The calling control of the facsimile apparatus 1 is executed by inputting the dial number of the destination terminal in response to a predetermined key operation from the operation panel 2.

As is clear from the configuration of FIG. 1, the operation panel 2 includes a key input section 2 and a display section 152 (for example,
A liquid crystal display device is used), and the key input unit 151 includes a numeric keypad, a one-touch dial key, a speed dial key, and the like for inputting the dial number.

In normal dialing, the user
All the dial numbers of the destination terminal are input from the key input unit 151 using the ten keys.

As a result, the dialing execution unit 122 executes dialing based on the dial number input by the above key input operation, and sends the dial number to the line 3 via the modem unit 13 and the line control unit 14. ..

After the destination terminal responds to this dialing, the main controller 12 starts communication control.

In addition to such normal dial transmission, the facsimile apparatus 1 can also perform so-called one-touch dial or speed dial transmission based on one-touch dial data or speed dial data registered in the dial storage unit 121 in advance. ..

When activating the one-touch dial or speed dial transmission, the user presses a desired one-touch dial key or speed dial key in the key input unit 151.

As a result, in the main control unit 12, the dialing execution unit 122 reads the dialing number of the other party corresponding to the one-touch dial key input or the speed dial key input from the dial storage unit 121 and dials it. On the other hand, after the partner terminal responds, communication with the partner terminal is started via the modem unit 13 and the line control unit 14.

The transmission control described above is exactly the same as the conventional one, and either normal dial transmission or one-touch or speed dial transmission can be activated by key input from the key input unit 151 of the facsimile apparatus 1.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to activate the transmission control similar to the above by using the PB tone signal generator 2 from a remote place of the facsimile apparatus 1.

The operation of the PB tone signal generator 5 and the facsimile machine 1 when activating the transmission control will be described below.

First, in the PB tone signal generator 2,
When the user performs a predetermined input operation, transmission of the PB tone signal is started.

The PB tone signal is received by the facsimile apparatus 1 through the external connection interface 11 and input to the main control unit 12.

In the main control unit 12, the received PB tone signal is identified by the PB tone signal identifying unit 123 and the contents are decoded.

As a result of this decoding, if the received PB tone signal corresponds to a one-touch dial or speed dial number, that number is transferred to the dialing execution unit 122.

The dialing execution unit 122 reads out the corresponding dial number of the other party from the dial storage unit 121 based on the input one-touch dial or speed dial number and executes dialing.

When the destination terminal responds by this dialing, the main control unit 12 then executes a predetermined facsimile communication start procedure through the line control unit 14 and the modem unit 13, and then proceeds to image data transmission or reception operation. Transition.

As described above, according to the present invention, by giving the PB tone signal from the PB tone signal generator 2, the one-touch dial or speed dial transmission function of the facsimile apparatus 1 can be used from a remote location.

In the above embodiment, the case where only the one-touch dial or speed dial transmission function of the facsimile apparatus 1 is activated based on the PB tone signal from the PB tone signal generator 2 has been described. A configuration is also possible in which all the other party's timetable numbers are input from 2 and the facsimile device 1 can execute a normal dial transmission based on the PB tone signal corresponding to the key operation.

Whichever method is applied, a call using the dialing function can be made from a remote location of the facsimile machine 1, and thereafter, the communication operation of the facsimile machine 1 can be activated in response to a response from the destination terminal. ..

As a result, for example, the polling reception operation by the facsimile device 1 can be activated from a remote location.

Further, in the above embodiment, after the facsimile machine 1 dials based on the PB tone signal from the PB tone signal generator 2, the communication operation of the facsimile machine 1 itself is activated by the response of the destination terminal. Although an example has been described, for example, if the PB tone signal generator 2 has a communication function such as data transmission or a call, only the dialing function of the facsimile device 1 is used, and after the destination terminal responds. Can also be configured such that the PB tone signal generator 2 itself communicates with the destination terminal.

Further, according to the present invention, the facsimile machine 1 and the P
The B tone signal generator 2 is not limited to being connected by wire, but a PB tone signal is wirelessly transmitted by using a wireless device as the PB tone signal generator 2 and using the external connection interface 11 as a wireless interface, for example. It is also possible to build a system that does.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the facsimile system according to the present invention, in which a cordless telephone 20 is used as a PB tone signal generator.

In order to establish a wireless connection with the cordless telephone 20, the facsimile apparatus 1 is provided with an external connection wireless interface 11A, and this wireless interface 11A is further connected via a changeover switch (not shown) in the line controller 14. Connected to line 3.

In this system, the cordless telephone 20 transmits a PB tone signal as a radio signal.

The facsimile apparatus 1 receives the PB signal via the wireless interface 11A and, at the same time, receives the PB signal.
The tone signal identifying section 123 identifies this, and based on the identification result, the dialing executing section 122 executes dialing such as one-touch dialing or speed dialing.

After the other terminal responds to the dialing call, the switching control unit 124 in the main control unit 12 connects the changeover switch in the line control unit 14 to the wireless interface 11A directly to the line 3. To switch.

As a result, the cordless telephone 20 is connected to the destination terminal via the line 3 and the wireless line, and can talk with the destination terminal by its own calling function.

As described above, in the system using the wireless device as the PB tone signal generator, since the degree of freedom of movement of the PB tone signal generator is high, the convenience of starting the facsimile apparatus 1 from a remote place is further enhanced. Can be improved.

[0049]

As described above, according to the facsimile system of the present invention, an external device having a function of generating a PB tone signal recognizes the PB tone signal and executes at least one-touch dial or speed dial transmission. Since the system configuration is such that a facsimile machine having a function is located at a remote location, it is possible to easily use a large number of one-touch dials or speed dials of a facsimile machine from a remote location and to generate a PB tone signal as an external device. Any device can be connected and the system configuration can be simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the facsimile system according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Facsimile device 2 PB tone signal generator 3 Line 11 External connection interface 11A External connection wireless interface 12 Main control unit 121 Dial storage unit 122 Dialing execution unit 123 PB tone signal identification unit 124 Switching control unit 13 Modem unit 14 Line control unit 15 Operation Panel Section 151 Key Input Section 152 Display Section 16 Reading Section 17 Encoding Section 18 Decoding Section 19 Recording Section 20 Cordless Telephone

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile device and an external device capable of generating a PB tone signal, wherein the facsimile device stores a destination dial number corresponding to a one-touch dial number or a speed dial number, and a one-touch device. When a dial number or a speed dial number is input, a dialing executing means for dialing based on a destination dial number corresponding to the input dial number in the storage means, and an external connection interface for connecting the external device A PB tone signal identifying means for identifying a PB tone signal sent from the external device via the external connection interface, and a one-touch dial number or abbreviated number indicated by the PB tone signal identified by the PB tone signal identifying means. Dialing based on dialed number Facsimile system characterized by comprising a dialing start unit that starts the dialing by the row unit. 2. The dialing executing means also has a normal dialing executing function based on the dialed dialing number of the other party, and the dialing starting means responds to the normal dialing number of the other party indicated by the PB tone signal. 2. The facsimile system according to claim 1, further comprising a dialing activating means capable of activating dialing. 3. The external device also has a call or data transmission function, and the facsimile apparatus has a switch means for connecting the external connection interface to a line and a switching control means for the switch means, and the dialing start means is used for the dialing. After the destination terminal responds to the ring,
3. The facsimile system according to claim 1, wherein a call or data transmission between the destination terminal and the external device is started with the facsimile communication operation being restricted. 4. A wireless terminal is used as an external device, an external connection interface is configured by a wireless interface, and the PB tone signal is wirelessly transmitted. Facsimile system described in.