JPH05191530A - Terminal network controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically distribute mail by means of automatic incoming call even if the power of a terminal such as a personal computer is turned off by receiving and accumulating mail in a terminal network controller in spite of a terminal state. CONSTITUTION:When a center 7 no-ringing-calls the terminal network controller 1, a telephone network outputs an inversion signal to the controller 1, and outputs the PB signal of '9'. The controller receives it, detects it in a judgement means 6 and starts a mail reception means 3. It receives a telegraphic message consisting of code information from the center 7 as mail and accumulates it in a mail accumulation means 4. Mail reception terminates when the controller 1 receives the restoration of polarity. A mail operation means 5 outputs and displays mail accumulated by a mail read request from a terminal 8b in a display or the like at arbitrary time. The operation means 5 can display the list of accumulated mail and deletes mail from the accumulation means 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is connected between a telephone line and a terminal such as a gas meter, and is connected to a center via the telephone line to realize communication for automatic meter reading between the center and the terminal. The present invention relates to a terminal network control device, and particularly to an additional communication function of the terminal network control device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional terminal network control device of this type, a terminal such as a gas meter is connected and a center calls the terminal by using a no ringing communication service of a telephone network to perform data communication between the terminal and the center. There is one for automatic meter reading, and it is becoming widely used as a telecontrol network system. This terminal network control device is a device for relaying serial data exchanged between a center and a terminal such as a gas meter, and is not a device for storage and exchange.

Next, a conventional technique of the electronic mail system will be described. An electronic mail system using a word processor (WP), a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC), or the like as a terminal has a mailbox for subscribers of the electronic mail system at the center, and mails for each subscriber are stored in this mailbox. It Therefore, in order for the subscriber to receive the mail, a method of calling the center from the PC and taking out the mail from the mailbox is adopted. A modem device such as an AT modem is used for communication between the PC and the center. This modem device is composed of means for connecting to a center or another terminal via a telephone line and modem means for modulating / demodulating serial data into an AC signal and transmitting / receiving it. There is no means for calling the terminal using the no-ringing communication service provided by. Further, although there is a modem device equipped with an automatic incoming call means, unless the power of the PC or the like is turned on, automatic delivery of mail to the PC cannot be realized, so the automatic incoming call means is not usually used.

There is also an answering machine connected to a telephone network as a device for electronic mail. This answering machine
It is a device that records (stores) a voice message of the other party in response to a call made while the user is away. However,
When such an answering machine or a facsimile is connected to one line, the facsimile may not be automatically received if the answering machine is set to the answering machine recording mode. This is because the answering machine may detect a ringing signal (bell ringing signal) to start an answering machine recording operation, and if the communication partner is a facsimile, it may not have a means for switching the telephone line to the facsimile. Then, when the answering machine is not in the answering machine recording mode, if the communication partner is a facsimile machine, a bell rings until the facsimile machine is activated. Further, the calling side cannot use the recording means of the communication partner unless the other party's answering machine is in the answering machine recording mode.

[0005]

Therefore, such a conventional technique has the following problems. (1) Unless the power of a terminal such as a PC is turned on, automatic delivery of mail by automatic incoming call cannot be performed. (2) Unless the terminal is designed and developed in consideration of the communication means of other terminals connected to the same telephone line, the above-mentioned automatic answering machine or facsimile communication cannot be realized. (3) The center or the terminal which is the sender cannot select whether or not to store the mail in the terminal of the communication partner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a terminal network control device capable of realizing a system capable of automatic distribution which does not exist in other terminal devices connected to a telephone line. To do.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the terminal network control device of the present invention is connected between a telephone line and a terminal to which a no-ringing communication service is provided,
Through means for connecting to the center via a telephone line to transfer information exchanged between the center and the terminal, mail receiving means, and when the center is connected by no ringing incoming call, activate the through means or send mail. It is provided with a judging means for judging whether to activate the receiving means, a mail accumulating means for accumulating the mail, and a mail device means for operating the mail accumulated by the mail accumulating means from a terminal.

[0008]

According to the present invention, by providing the above-mentioned means, in the case of connecting to the center by no ringing incoming call,
The judging means judges whether the communication is through the through means or the mail receiving means. The mail receiving means receives the mail and stores the mail using the mail storing means. The mail operation means retrieves the mail from the mail storage means according to the request from the terminal.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 1 is a terminal network control device of the present invention, and it is assumed that the center 7, a terminal 8a and a terminal 8b are connected by a telephone line provided with a no ringing communication service. The terminal 8a is a gas meter capable of automatic meter reading, the terminal 8
b is a personal computer that sends and receives mail.

The terminal network control device 1 includes a center 6 and a terminal 8a.
When connected to the center 6 through the through means 2 for transferring information exchange between them through, the mail receiving means 3, and the center 6 by no ringing incoming call, it is determined whether to activate the through means 2 or the mail receiving means 3. It comprises a judging means 6, a mail storing means 4 for storing mails, and a mail operating means 5 for allowing the mails stored by the mail storing means 4 to be operated from the terminal 8b.

The mail storage means 4 uses a RAM of a microcomputer or the like. The determination means 6 is, for example, N which is a push button (PB) signal for the center to select a terminal when receiving a no-ringing incoming call.
It shall be realized by judging the type of RS signal. ”
When the PB signal of 1 "is received as the NRS signal, the through means 2 is activated, and when the PB signal of" 9 "is received as the NRS signal, the mail accumulating means 4 is activated. As another method. There is also a method of determining whether the center 6 activates the through means 2 or the mail receiving means 3 by exchanging a telegram with the terminal network control device after receiving no ringing.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
First, the communication operation between the terminal 8a and the center 6 using the through means 2 will be described with reference to FIG. This operation can be realized by the conventional terminal network control device for automatic meter reading.

When the center 6 makes a no-ringing call to the terminal network controller 1, the telephone network which provides the no-ringing communication service outputs a signal of polarity reversal 16 to the terminal network controller 1. Then, the telephone network changes the NRS signal 17 ("
1 "PB signal) is output. The terminal network control device 1 outputs N
Upon receiving the RS signal 17, the judging means 6 detects that the PB signal is "1" and activates the through means 2. The through means 2 connects the terminal 8a to the center, demodulates the alternating current signal received from the center 6 into a serial digital signal and transfers it to the terminal 8a as a through telegram 19, and transfers the serial digital signal generated from the terminal 8a to the alternating current of the modem. The signal is modulated and transmitted to the center 6 as a through message 20. Finally, when the terminal network control device 1 receives the polarity restoration 21, the communication ends.

Next, the operation of mail reception using the mail receiving means 3 and the mail storing means 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

When the center 6 calls the terminal network controller 1 for no ringing, the telephone network which provides the no ringing communication service outputs a signal of polarity inversion 9 to the terminal network controller 1. Next, the telephone network changes the NRS signal 10 ("9").
PB signal of) is output. The terminal network control device 1 uses the NRS
Upon receiving the signal 10, the judging means 6 detects that it is a PB signal of "9" and activates the mail receiving means 2. The mail receiving means 2 receives a message including code information from the center as a mail and stores it in the mail storing means 4. When the terminal network control device 1 receives the polarity recovery 13, the reception of the mail ends. After receiving the mail, mail operation means 5
Sends a stored mail 12 to the terminal 8b upon receiving a request for the mail read 14 from the terminal 8b at any time. The terminal 8b operates the display 15 for outputting the received mail 12 to the display or the like. As the operation of the mail operation means 5, the operation in response to the request of the mail read 14 has been taken as an example, but it may also include means for displaying a list of received mails, deleting mails from the mail storage means 4, and the like. is there.

In the above embodiment, the case where the electronic message including the code information is handled as a mail has been described, but there is also a configuration in which the terminal 8b can handle a voice to realize a voice mail. Further, as the determination means 6, it is determined whether the through means 2 or the mail receiving means 3 is activated depending on whether an NRS signal is received or a normal ringing signal (bell ringing signal) is received. There is also a configuration in which an answering machine terminal having both a terminal 8a and a terminal 8b compatible with the means 2 and the mail receiving means 3 is connected.

[0017]

As described above, according to the terminal network control apparatus of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. (1) Since mails can be received and stored in the terminal network control device regardless of the state of the terminal, it is possible to construct a system capable of automatically delivering mails by automatic incoming call even if the terminal such as a personal computer is not powered on. (2) Since no-ringing communication is a standard communication method defined by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, if this method is used, the design and development of a terminal that is conscious of communication means such as answering machine or facsimile, which is another terminal connected to the same telephone line. Even without doing so, it is possible to build a system that substitutes the automatic answering of the current answering machine and facsimile. (3) It becomes possible for the center or terminal on the sending side to select whether or not to store the mail in the terminal of the communication partner.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a terminal network control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a mail receiving operation of the device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a through operation of the device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Terminal Network Control Device 2 Through Means 3 Mail Receiving Means 4 Mail Accumulating Means 5 Mail Operating Means 6 Judging Means

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masaaki Sakata 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A non-ringing communication service is provided between a telephone line and a terminal, and a center is connected via the telephone line to transfer information exchanged between the center and the terminal. Through means, mail receiving means for receiving mail from the center, and judging means for deciding whether to activate the through means or the mail receiving means when connected to the center by no ringing incoming call, A terminal network control device comprising: a mail storing means for storing the mail; and a mail operating means for operating the mail stored by the mail storing means from the terminal.