JPH05211675A - Method and device for confirming response of opposit party - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the subject method and device which can quickly confirm the non-response state of an opposit device and also can surely prevent the malfunctions caused by the noises. CONSTITUTION:A call means 1 is provided to transmit a call signal to an opposit device via a public line L and inputs the signals through the line L together with a signal detecting means 3 which detects the signals inputted through the line L, a frequency detecting means 4 which detects the frequency of each input signal, a cycle measuring means 5 which measures the cycle of each input signal, and a control means 2 which controls the means 1, 3, 4 and 5 respectively. In such a constitution, the frequency of the input signal is checked twice and the cycle of the signal is also checked. Thus it is possible to quickly confirm the non-response state of the opposit device and to surely prevent the malfunctions caused by the noises.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication device such as a telephone set or a facsimile device having an automatic calling function, and particularly to promptly confirm the busy state of a partner device when an automatic calling is made. The present invention relates to a device and a method for confirming a response on the other side that can be performed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional counterpart response confirmation method, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-37784. It detects the frequency of the signal coming from the telephone line and measures the duration and stop time of the signal,
If the frequency of the signal is the frequency that forms the busy tone, and the duration and stop time of the signal match the specified time that forms the busy tone, the other device determines that it is not responding. As described above, the non-responsive state of the partner device can be quickly confirmed without waiting for 40 seconds.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional other party's response confirmation system, only the frequency of the signal input from the telephone line and the duration and stop time of the signal are compared with the busy tone. Since the non-responsiveness of the other device was checked by the other device, a signal of a type different from the busy signal, such as lightning or noise due to electrical work, happened to be at the same level as the busy signal frequency and duration / stop time. In that case, there is a possibility that a malfunction may occur by mistake with the busy tone. Then, this invention makes it a subject to solve the said problem.

[0004]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following configuration. (1) Calling means for transmitting a call signal to a partner device via a public line and inputting a signal from the public line, signal detecting means for detecting a signal coming from the public line, and the incoming signal 2. A counterpart response confirmation device comprising: frequency detection means for detecting the frequency of 1., cycle measurement means for measuring the cycle of the incoming signal, and control means for controlling the respective means. (2) A call signal is transmitted to the partner device, it is determined whether the frequency of the signal coming from the public line is about the same as the busy tone, and the signal comes in a second time with an interval from the incoming signal. The other party's response confirmation method for determining whether the frequency of the second incoming signal is about the same as the busy tone.

[0005]

[Function] It is determined that the frequency of the signal coming from the public line is about the same as the busy tone, and the period from the incoming signal to the second incoming signal at an interval is about the same as the busy tone. By determining that the frequency of the second incoming signal is about the same as the busy tone, the non-response of the partner device is confirmed. By thus checking the frequency of the incoming signal twice and also checking the period of that signal,
It is possible to quickly confirm the non-responsive state of the partner device, and reliably prevent a malfunction caused by erroneously determining the busy signal and other noise.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram corresponding to the counterpart response confirmation apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a calling means, and the calling means 1 sends a calling signal to a partner device via the public line L according to a command from the control means 2 and a signal from the public line L. Enter. The signal detection means 3 detects a signal coming from the public line L and outputs the detection signal to the control means 2. Upon receiving the detection signal from the signal detecting means 3, the control means 2 outputs the signal to the frequency detecting means 4 and the period measuring means 5. The frequency detecting means 4 detects the frequency of the signal detected by the signal detecting means 3, and the cycle measuring means 5 measures the cycle of the signal.

2 to 4 are diagrams showing an embodiment of a counterpart response confirmation apparatus and method according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system of the facsimile apparatus. In FIG. 2, a control unit 15 (corresponding to the control means 2 in FIG. 1) of the facsimile apparatus is a network control circuit 11 (corresponding to the calling means 1 in FIG. 1). Command to the other device to make a call using a dial or the like. At this time, the control unit 15 sets the timer 13, sends a CNG signal for confirming that the automatic call is made, and sets the timer 14.

The CNG signal has a frequency of 50 at 1100 Hz.
A signal that continues for 0 ms is sent in a 3-second cycle.
It is controlled based on the output of the timer 14 having a cycle of 3 seconds. If the partner device responds, the polarity of the telephone line (public line) is reversed and a response signal is returned. The timer 13 indicates the time for monitoring this response state, and sends a signal to the control unit 15 when 40 seconds elapse, for example. When a response is received within the monitoring time, the control unit 15 sends a procedure signal to the partner device via the modem 12.

The input signal detection circuit 17 (corresponding to the signal detection means 3 in FIG. 1) detects the levels of all the signals coming into the network control circuit 11 from the telephone line and sets the levels above a predetermined threshold value. When detected, the signal S1 is turned on and sent to the control unit 15. The input signal detection circuit 17 is composed of, for example, a diode. The control unit 15 that receives the signal S1
Causes the frequency detection circuit 18 (corresponding to the frequency detection means 4 in FIG. 1) to detect the frequency of the incoming signal. When the frequency detection circuit 18 detects a frequency of 350 to 450 Hz, it sends the signal S2 to the control unit 15. .. Frequency detection circuit 18
Is composed of, for example, a filter for 350 to 450 Hz.

The counter 16 (corresponding to the period measuring means 5 in FIG. 1) starts when the signal S1 from the input signal detection circuit 17 starts to be sent to the control section 15, and the signal S1 becomes O.
After FF (stop), the period until the next signal S1 is started to be sent to the control unit 15 is measured. The network control circuit 11 is controlled by the control unit 15 to switch the line between the facsimile machine having the control system as described above and the telephone 19.

Next, the operation of the facsimile apparatus will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. 3 and the time chart of FIG. According to the instruction from the control unit 15, the network control circuit 11 switches the line from the telephone 19 to the side of the facsimile machine and performs line exclusive processing (step P1). Next, the network control circuit 11 performs a calling process for transmitting a calling signal (CNG signal) to the partner device according to an instruction from the control unit 15 (step P).
2). At this time, the control unit 15 sets the timer 14 to set C
The timer 13 is also set while transmitting the NG signal.

The input signal detection circuit 17 detects a signal having a level equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value among the signals coming into the network control circuit 11 from the telephone line, and sends the detection signal S1 to the control section 15 (step P3). Yes). Next, it is judged whether the detected signal S1 is a facsimile signal (CED signal) (step P4), and if not (NO), the frequency detection circuit 18 takes time t1 (see FIG. 4) to detect the frequency, and The signal S2 corresponding to the frequency is sent to the control unit 15. The control unit 15 determines whether the detected frequency is the same level as the busy signal (busy signal) (about 400 Hz) (step P5). If YES, the counter 16 then causes the counter 16 to cycle t2 of the incoming signal S1. (See FIG. 4) is measured. The control unit 15 determines whether the cycle t2 measured by the counter 16 is about the same as the busy signal (about 1 second) (step P
6) If YES, then the frequency detection circuit 18 detects the frequency again. Then, the control unit 15 again determines whether the detected frequency is about the same as the busy signal (step P
7) If YES, it is determined that the incoming signal is definitely a busy signal, and the network control circuit 11 switches the line from the facsimile to the telephone 19 to perform the line release process (step P8).

In step P4, the incoming signal is CE
When it is determined that the signal is the D signal, communication is performed by exchanging the procedure signal with the partner device (step P9), and when the communication is completed, the process proceeds to step P8. Step P3
If the answer is NO, it is determined whether the response monitoring time (for example, 40 seconds) measured by the timer 13 has elapsed (step P10), and if YES, the process proceeds to exception processing (error processing) (step P11). Also, when NO is determined in steps P5 and P6, the process moves to an exception process (step P11), and returns to step P3, or an error process or the like is performed. Further step P
If NO is determined in step 7, step P
Although the same processing is performed after shifting to step 11, if the subsequent incoming signal is determined to be the CED signal, the processing may shift to step P9.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a partner side response confirmation apparatus according to claim 3 of the present invention. The difference from the functional block diagram corresponding to claim 1 shown in FIG. 1 is that a duration measuring means 6 for measuring the duration of an incoming signal is added.

FIGS. 6 to 8 are diagrams showing another embodiment of the counterpart response confirmation apparatus and method according to the present invention, which correspond to claims 3 and 4. The block diagram of the control system of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 6 is substantially the same as that of FIG. 2 showing the above-mentioned embodiment, but a counter 26 (corresponding to the duration measuring means 6 shown in FIG. 5) is additionally connected to the control unit 15. The difference is in the point.

In the operation according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the procedure of steps P1 to P5 and P7 to P12 is the same as the above embodiment, but step P6 is inserted between steps P5 and P7. Are different in. That is, in step P6, as shown in FIG. 8, the counter 26 measures the duration of the incoming signal S1 and sends a signal corresponding to the duration to the controller 15. The control unit 15 determines whether the duration measured by the counter 26 is about the same as the busy signal (about 500 ms). By adding such step P6, it is possible to more reliably determine that the incoming signal S1 is a busy signal.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is judged that the frequency of the signal coming from the public line is about the same as the busy tone, and the signal is inputted for the second time at a distance from the incoming signal. It is determined that the period up to the incoming signal is about the same as the busy tone, and that the frequency of the second incoming signal is about the same as the busy tone to confirm the non-response of the partner device. In this way, by checking the frequency of the incoming signal twice and by also checking the period of the signal, the non-responsive state of the partner device can be confirmed quickly, and the busy tone signal and other noises can be detected. It is possible to reliably prevent a malfunction due to an erroneous determination. Further, according to the other embodiment, it is further ensured that the incoming signal is a busy tone signal by determining whether the duration of the signal coming from the public line is similar to the busy tone. It becomes possible to judge.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram corresponding to a counterpart response confirmation device according to claim 1 of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system of a facsimile apparatus showing an embodiment of a counterpart response confirmation apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the other party response confirmation device shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a time chart explaining the operation of the other party response confirmation device shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram corresponding to the counterpart response confirmation device according to claim 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a control system of a facsimile apparatus showing another embodiment of the other-party response confirmation apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of the other-party response confirmation device shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a time chart explaining the operation of the other-party response confirmation device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Calling Means 2 Control Means 3 Signal Detecting Means 4 Frequency Detecting Means 5 Cycle Measuring Means 6 Duration Measuring Means 11 Network Control Circuits 12 Modems 13, 14 Timers 15 Controllers 16, 26 Counters 17 Input Signal Detecting Circuits 18 Frequency Detecting Circuits

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A calling means for transmitting a calling signal to a partner device via a public line and inputting a signal from the public line, a signal detecting means for detecting a signal coming from the public line, and the incoming call. A response confirmation device on the other side, comprising frequency detection means for detecting the frequency of a signal to be transmitted, cycle measurement means for measuring the cycle of the incoming signal, and control means for controlling the respective means. 2. A calling signal is transmitted to the partner device, and it is judged whether the frequency of the signal coming from the public line is about the same as the busy tone,
It is determined whether the cycle from the incoming signal to the second incoming signal at an interval is similar to the busy tone, and whether the frequency of the second incoming signal is similar to the busy tone. A method of confirming a response from the other side, characterized by: 3. The other-party response confirmation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a duration measuring means for measuring a duration of a signal coming from the public line. 4. The other party's response confirmation method according to claim 2, further comprising determining whether the duration of the signal coming from the public line is about the same as the busy tone.