JPH0514585A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize a equipment by providing a control section which selects a transmission reception signal path to a MODEM device or another signal path in another case and a switch section selecting the signal path to the MODEM device to the facsimile equipment. CONSTITUTION:A signal is sent to a control section 2 from a portable telephone set 9 via a connector 74 and the control section 2 sends a control signal 21 to a MODEM device 3 so as to start the communication procedure to an opposite facsimile equipment. Then a picture signal from a read section 10 is sent as a facsimile signal 32 from the MODEM 3. During the execution of communication, the signals 31, 32 from the device 3 are given to an interface section 5 leading to the telephone set 9, in which the signal intensity is corrected so as to be in matching with the characteristic of the telephone set 9 via a switch section 4. The signals as signals 51, 52 are sent/received to/from the telephone set 9 via a cable 9 through connectors 71, 72 of the interface section 7 and object facsimile communication is implemented.

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 portable facsimile machine such as a cellular system which communicates with a portable telephone which transmits and receives a subscriber line signal via a station and a wireless line to communicate the facsimile signal. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional facsimiles of this type do not have means for directly connecting to a mobile phone, and generally use a two-line subscriber line signal or a separate subscriber line signal for transmission and reception. It only has the connection means for the four-wire type audio signal described above. On the other hand, the mobile phone has a 4-wire audio signal interface.

[0003]

When these conventional facsimile apparatuses are connected to the above-mentioned portable telephone, a two-wire type signal is converted into a four-wire type signal in a type having a connecting means for connecting to a general subscriber line signal. A 2-wire to 4-wire converter for transmitting and receiving is required externally, and for those having a connection means for 4-wire audio signals, a signal level conversion circuit is externally attached or directly connected in order to match the signal level of the mobile phone. However, there is a drawback that the deterioration of the signal due to the difference in level cannot be tolerated and the system cannot be downsized and high quality communication cannot be performed. In addition, there is a problem that only the transmission and reception of facsimile signals can be performed between the mobile phone and the facsimile device, and even when the mobile phone has a means for externally controlling the call processing of the mobile phone, incoming and outgoing calls can be made by the mobile phone. However, there is an inconvenience that there is no choice but to perform a complicated operation of performing a transmission / reception operation by performing an operation on the facsimile side after establishing a call.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The facsimile apparatus of the present invention provides a means for transmitting and receiving a facsimile signal by connecting to a cellular phone such as a cellular system, and a status of the cellular phone including information such as incoming and outgoing calls to the cellular phone. It receives the electrical signal and identifies the information indicating the state of the mobile phone. When making a call from the mobile phone or receiving an incoming call to the mobile phone, the transmission / reception signal path to the modem device is selected. A control unit that performs control for selecting a signal path and a switch unit that switches a signal path to a modem device are included.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention including a connection state with a mobile phone.

In the figure, 1 is a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, 9 is a conventional cellular mobile telephone (car phone, etc.) for connecting and receiving the facsimile apparatus and transmitting / receiving a signal through a wireless line 100, and 8 is a facsimile. An interface cable that connects the device 1 and the mobile phone 9.

The facsimile apparatus 1 includes a reading section 10, an encoding / decoding section 20, a printer section 30 for thermally recording a decoded signal, an operation section 40 for designating an encoding method, and a control section. 2, a modem device 3, a switch unit 4, and a signal interface unit 5 connected to the mobile phone 9.
And a signal interface unit 6 for connecting to another line, and a signal path for connecting from the control unit 2 and the signal interface unit 5 to the mobile phone to the interface terminal unit 7 including the connectors 71, 72, 73, 74 is provided. Has been.

The control unit 2 is connected to the mobile phone 9 via connectors 73 and 74 connected to control signal lines, receives various control signals from the mobile phone 9, interprets the signals, and outputs control signals 21, 22, 23. Control of the modem device 3 via the
The switch unit 4 for selecting the destination of (1, 32) is controlled.

The modem device 3 has a function of transmitting and receiving a sequence of image signals of a facsimile to modulate and demodulate, and receives a facsimile signal 31 output to a thermal printer 30, which is another part of the facsimile apparatus 1, and of a reading unit 10. The facsimile signal 32 is transmitted in response to the electric input from the contact image sensor.

Under the control of the control unit 2, the switch unit 4 selects either the signal interface unit 5 for the mobile phone 9 or the signal interface unit 6 for the other line, and selects the modem signals 31, 32. Send to interface unit or receive from interface unit.

The signal interface unit 5 connected to the mobile phone 9 through the connectors 71 and 72 adapts the facsimile signals 31 and 32 transmitted and received from the modem device 3 via the switch unit 4 to the characteristics of the mobile phone 9. The signal strength is corrected as described above, and the signals 51 and 52 are connected to the 4-wire voice signal input / output unit of the mobile phone 9 via the cable 8 via the facsimile signal transmitting side connector 71 and the facsimile signal receiving side connector 72 of the interface terminal unit 7. To do.

The signal interface section 6 to the other line is a circuit for converting the facsimile signals 31 and 32 transmitted and received from the modem device 3 through the switch section 5 into signals of a two-line public line or a four-line acoustic coupler. Built-in signal 6
1, 62 are connected to a target line via connectors 611, 621.

Next, the operation of the facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In order to put the facsimile apparatus 1 into the automatic communication mode, the automatic / manual button of the operation unit 40 is preset to automatic.

When a call is made from the mobile phone 9 to a communication partner and a facsimile signal is transmitted, a signal or code for notifying that the call is made is sent to the control unit 2 via the connector 74 of the control signal.
Then, the control unit 2 determines the automatic communication mode, and transmits a serial signal for switching the audio signal path from the speaker / microphone side to the connectors 71, 72 side to the mobile phone 9 via the connector 73. Then, the control unit 2 switches the facsimile signals 31 and 32 from the modem device 3 to the signal interface unit 5 for the mobile phone 9,
The control signal 22 is sent to the switch unit 4.

Next, when the connection with the other party is completed via the wireless line, a signal or code notifying the fact is sent from the mobile phone 9 to the control section 2 via the connector 74 of the control signal line. As a result, the control unit 2 sends the control signal 21 to the modem device 3 so as to start the communication procedure according to the communication mode at that time, that is, the transmission speed, the coding rule, etc. with the facsimile of the other party. Here, the facsimile device side does not need to press the communication button. After the pre-facsimile procedure, the image signal from the reading unit 10 is sent from the modem device 3 as a facsimile signal 32. During communication, the facsimile signals 31 and 32 from the modem device 3 pass through the switch unit 4 and are corrected in signal strength so as to match the characteristics of the mobile phone 9 in the signal interface unit 5 to the mobile phone 9. As a reference numeral 52, data is transmitted / received to / from the mobile phone 9 via the cable 8 via the facsimile signal transmitting side connector 71 and the facsimile signal receiving side connector 72 of the interface terminal unit 7, and the desired facsimile transmission (for example, facsimile communication defined in CCITT Recommendation T.30) is performed. Done.

When the communication is completed, the control unit 2 monitors the states of the modem device 3 or other parts of the facsimile apparatus, that is, the reading unit, the encoding / decoding unit, the driving unit, etc., and the control signals 21 and 22. At the same time as returning the device to the initial state, the mobile phone 9 is notified of the end of communication via the connector 73 of the control signal line and the disconnection process is performed. At this time, the voice path in the mobile phone 9 is the connector 7
The system switches from the 1,72 side to the microphone / speaker side and waits for an incoming call.

Next, when the mobile phone 9 is called and the facsimile is received from the communication partner, the called signal or code is sent to the control unit 2 via the connector 74 of the control signal line. The control unit 2 determines the automatic communication mode and transmits a serial signal for switching the audio signal path from the speaker microphone side to the connectors 71 and 72 side to the mobile phone 9 via the connector 73. Then, the control unit 2 activates the entire apparatus and sends a control signal 22 to the switch unit 4 so as to switch the facsimile signals 31 and 32 to the modem device 3 to be connected to the signal interface unit 5 to the mobile phone 9. To do.

Next, the control section 2 informs the mobile phone 9 that the other party has responded and starts communication by means of a signal or code instructing to send a response signal via the connector 73 of the control signal line. To send.

When the other party detects this response signal, the facsimile communication procedure starts, and the modem device 3 responds to the other party, and the facsimile signal processing is performed according to the communication mode at that time, that is, the transmission speed, the coding rule and the like.

During execution of communication, the facsimile signals 31 and 32 from the modem device 3 pass through the switch unit 4 and the signal interface unit 5 to the mobile phone 9 operates the mobile phone 9.
The signal strength is corrected to match the characteristics of
As a reference numeral 52, the facsimile signal is transmitted / received to / from the portable telephone through the cable 8 via the facsimile signal transmitting connector 71 and the facsimile signal receiving connector 72 of the interface terminal section 7, and the intended facsimile reception is performed.

When the communication is completed, the modem device 3 detects the end of the communication, sends a signal to the control signals 21 and 22 to return the apparatus to the initial state, and at the same time, it is carried through the connector 73 of the control signal line. It informs the telephone 9 of the end of communication and causes it to disconnect.

In the above structure, the connectors 73, 74
The signal transmitted / received to / from the mobile phone 9 via the is an electric signal indicating the presence / absence of a signal, and may be transmitted using a plurality of signal lines, or may be transmitted / received by code information using two lines. It may be a serial signal system.

Further, in the above configuration, the control unit 2 has the signal interface unit 5 for the mobile phone 9 therein, and the facsimile signal 3 corresponding to a plurality of types of the mobile phone of the other party.
It has a conversion circuit having a level adjusting function capable of converting the signal levels of 1 and 32 into a plurality of values, and the signals transmitted to and received from the mobile phone 9 through the connectors 73 and 74 can identify the type of the mobile phone of the other party. By including the information, the level adjustment control of the conversion circuit may be performed so as to identify the information and select the signal level according to the type of the other party's mobile phone. Further, even if there is no identification information, the level control of the conversion circuit may be performed so as to select the level compatible with the other party's mobile phone by the operation input from the operation unit 40.

When the automatic / manual button of the operation unit 40 is on the manual side, the control unit 2 is in the manual communication mode, and in order to perform facsimile transmission or reception while the mobile phone 9 is talking, the operation is performed. It is necessary to operate the communication key of the section 40. At this time, the control unit 2 connects the audio signal path inside the mobile phone 9 to the connectors 71, 72 with respect to the mobile phone 9.
The serial signal for switching to the side is transmitted via the connector 73. After confirming that the route inside the mobile phone has been switched, the control unit 2 activates the communication start to the modem device 3, and subsequently, the original is read at the time of transmission and the recording is started at the time of reception.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, an external converter or an external 4-wire audio signal level converter for transmitting / receiving / separating a 2-wire type signal, which is required in a conventional facsimile apparatus, is used. Is unnecessary, and the system can be miniaturized. Further, in the method using the above converter, since the signals that can be handled are only subscriber line signals or voice signals, there is a problem that a signal for controlling the device cannot be placed and only a facsimile signal can be transmitted and received. Even if there is a means to control the call processing of the mobile phone from the outside, it is inconvenient that the incoming / outgoing call is performed by the mobile phone and the operation on the facsimile side is performed after the call is established. This has the effect that it can be realized by a simple operation on the mobile phone side.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Facsimile machine 2 control unit 21 Control signal 22 Control signal 23 Control signal 3 modem devices 31 Facsimile signal 32 facsimile signal 4 switch part 5 Signal interface to mobile phone 51 signal 52 signal 6 Signal interface to other lines 61 signal 62 signal 611 signal path 621 signal path 7 Interface terminal block 71 Facsimile signal transmission side connector 72 Facsimile signal receiving side connector 73 Control signal line connector 74 Control signal line connector 8 interface cable 9 mobile phones

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A means for transmitting / receiving a facsimile signal by connecting to a mobile phone for transmitting / receiving a signal via a station and a wireless line, and a switch section for switching a signal path to a modem device for transmitting / receiving the facsimile signal. The information indicating the state of the mobile phone including the information of the call or the call of the mobile phone is received from the mobile phone to identify the information, and when the call or the call is received, the modem device and the mobile phone And a control section for controlling the switch section so as to select a transmission / reception signal path between the switch section and the other signal path, and to select another signal path in other cases. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an electric signal indicating a state of the mobile phone including information of an incoming call to the mobile phone is expressed by a code and is a serial signal. 3. A level conversion circuit connected between the switch section and the mobile phone for converting the signal level of a facsimile signal into a plurality of values corresponding to a plurality of types of the mobile phone of the other side, and a mobile phone of the other side. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that selects a suitable level according to a telephone.