JPH0522506A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the transmission of image data from a data terminal even when no image memory is in the facsimile equipment or when the capacity is small. CONSTITUTION:The data of an image file 41 prepared on a DTE is encoded by an encode/decode 42, and the start bit and stop bit are added by a serial communication LSI 43. It is transferred through an RS-232C to a serial communication LSI 44 in the device, deleting the start bit and the stop bit. It is transferred from a modem 46 to a line through a communication buffer 45.

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 facsimile machine having an interface for serial transmission.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of facsimile apparatus,
Connected to a data terminal (DTE: Date Terminal Equipment) via an interface for serial transmission, and
When transmitting the image data displayed on the TE or the image data stored as an image file in the DTE to another communication terminal, the image data sent through the interface is temporarily stored in the image memory in the facsimile device. After that, it is configured to transmit again.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when the image data is transmitted from the DTE,
When the image data is once stored in the image memory and then transmitted, and if the facsimile device does not have an image memory or has a small memory capacity, it is possible to store all the image data from the DTE. Therefore, there is a problem that the facsimile machine cannot transmit the data.

Therefore, when there is no image memory or when the memory capacity is small, a facsimile apparatus has also been proposed which takes in image data from the DTE every few lines, performs a process such as coding on the image data, and transmits the image data. However, it had the following drawbacks.

In the serial interface between the DTE-facsimile apparatus, since data transfer is asynchronous, 2 to 4 extra bits (start bit, stop bit, parity bit) are always characters (8 bits). If the data transfer rate between the DTE-facsimile apparatus and the transmission rate on the line are the same, the data transfer between the DTE-facsimile apparatus will not be in time for the data transmission with the line, and the transmission rate with the line will be It will be low.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a facsimile apparatus capable of transmitting image data from a data terminal even when there is no image memory in the apparatus or when the capacity is small. The purpose is to provide.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] and

In order to achieve the above object, the facsimile apparatus of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, in a facsimile apparatus having a serial transmission interface, control means for controlling a data transfer rate with a connected data terminal, and data communication for performing data communication with the data terminal according to the data transfer rate controlled by the control means. And means.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the arrangement of a facsimile apparatus according to this embodiment.

In the figure, a CPU 1 is composed of a microprocessor or the like, and according to a program (processing procedure) stored in a ROM 2, the entire apparatus, that is, a RAM.
3, non-volatile RAM 4, character generator (C
G) 5, the recording unit 6, the reading unit 7, the modem unit 8, the network control unit (NCU) 9, the operation unit 12, and the display unit 13 are controlled. The RAM 3 stores the binarized image data read by the reading unit 7 or the binarized image data recorded by the recording unit 6, and the analog waveform input from the telephone line 10 is demodulated and demodulated. It stores the binarized data. The non-volatile RAM 4 surely stores data to be saved even when the power of the facsimile machine is cut off. The non-volatile RAM 4 is one of registration means for registering a destination name and a destination telephone number input via the operation unit 12 described later in association with each other. Then, based on the program stored in the ROM 2, the CPU 1 has a function as a transmission means for transmitting the destination name corresponding to the input destination telephone number to the destination receiver.

The CG 5 is a ROM for storing characters such as JIS code and ASCII code, and extracts character data corresponding to a predetermined code composed of 2-byte data under the control of the CPU 1. The recording unit 6 is composed of a DMA controller, a sub CPU, a thermal head, a TTL logic IC, and the like, and reads the binary image data stored in the RAM 3 under the control of the CPU 1 and records and outputs it as a hard copy. The reading unit 7 includes a DMA controller, a sub CPU,
It is composed of image sensor, TTL logic IC, etc.
The data read by the CCD is binarized under the control of the CPU 1, and the binarized data is sequentially sent to the RAM 3.

It should be noted that the loading state of the original document in the reading section 7 is configured so that it can be detected by a document sensor such as a photo sensor provided in the document conveyance path, and the original document detection signal is input to the CPU 1.

The modem 8 is a facsimile of G3, G2.
It is composed of a G1 and FM modem and a clock generation circuit connected to these modems, and R based on the control of the CPU1.
Modulate the binary transmission data stored in AM3, and
The data is output to the telephone line 10 via the CU 9. Further, the modem 8 transmits the analog signal of the telephone line 10 to the NCU 9
And then demodulate this. Then, the demodulated binarized data is stored in the RAM 3. NCU9 is C
Under the control of the PU 1, the telephone line 10 is switched to either the modem 8 or the telephone 11 for connection.

The telephone 11 is integrated with a facsimile device, and its dial operation portion is integrated as an operation unit 12. Specifically, it is composed of a handset, a speech network, a dial numeric keypad, a one-touch key, and the like. The operation unit 12 includes a key for starting image transmission or reception, a fine key for transmission / reception,
It is composed of a mode selection key for designating operation modes such as standard and automatic reception, and a numeric keypad for dialing. Then, the CPU 1 detects the pressed state of each key described above and controls each unit according to the pressed state. The display unit 13 is a liquid crystal display that displays 16 digits, and includes a CPU.
Characters and pictograms are displayed under the control of 1.

The serial transmission LSI 14 is an RS-23.
Data terminal (DT
E) 16 is an LSI for transferring serial data to and from the DTE. When converting parallel data to serial data or vice versa, a start bit and a stop bit are added / erased, and data is exchanged with the DTE. To do.

The RS-232C interface 1
5 defines the type of signal line, the function, and the use of the connector for serial connection with the DTE. Also, DT
A personal computer (personal computer) is generally used for E16, and image data such as graphics created on the DTE is sent to a facsimile machine through the RS-232C interface 15 and the serial transmission LSI 14.
The facsimile machine transmits the image data to the telephone line 10 via the modem unit 8 and the NCU 9.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a communication mode in which the facsimile apparatus and the DTE in this embodiment are connected and image data is transmitted and received. As shown, DTE1
The image created in 7 is transferred to the facsimile device 19 through the RS-232C interface 18, subjected to various processing such as encoding, and then sent to the line 20. Then, the image data sent via the line 20 is received by the facsimile device 21 and output as it is, or DT through the RS-232C interface 22.
It is output on the display of E23 or stored as an image file on the hard disk or the like in the DTE 23.

FIG. 3 is a correspondence diagram for adjusting the data transfer rate between the DTE-facsimile apparatus for each transmission rate with the line in the facsimile apparatus according to the present embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the case of the asynchronous method, there are always 2 to 4 extra bits (in this example, start bit = 1, parity bit = 0, stop bit =
1) is added for each character (data bits = 8), and if the data link rate between the DTE-facsimile apparatus and the transmission rate on the line are the same, the data transfer rate between the DTE-facsimile apparatus is the data transmission to the line. I can't keep up with the speed. Therefore, the data link rate is obtained as described below, and the data transfer rate and the transmission rate on the line are adjusted by performing data transfer according to the data link rate.

When the start bit = 1, the parity bit = 0, and the stop bit = 1, the data link rate for sufficiently meeting the transmission rate on the line is, for example, when the transmission rate on the line is 9600 bps. , Data link rate = 9600 × (10/8) = 12000 [baud], and the data link rate that is sufficiently in time is 1920
It becomes 0 [baud].

Therefore, the RS-232C baud rate is 1
If 9200 [baud] is supported, the facsimile machine can theoretically transmit at a transmission rate of up to 14400 bps.

Next, the data flow between the DTE and the facsimile apparatus in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

First, at the time of transmission, the data of the image file 41 created on the DTE is encoded by the encode / decode 42, and the start bit and the stop bit are added by the serial communication LSI 43. Then, it is sent to the serial communication LSI 44 in the facsimile apparatus through the RS-232C, the start bit and the stop bit are erased, and the communication buffer 4
5 is transmitted from the modem 46 to the line.

Next, at the time of reception, the data from the line is
The data is received by the communication buffer 45 via the modem 46, and a start bit and a stop bit are added by the serial communication LSI 44. And RS-232C
Through the serial communication LSI 43 in the DTE, the start bit and stop bit are erased,
It is stored as it is as a file, is decoded by the encoding / decoding 42 and is stored in the image file 41, or is output on a display (not shown).

Further, since the capacity of the communication buffer 45 in the facsimile apparatus is fixed, if the data link rate becomes faster than the transmission speed, data may overflow. Until the start bit and the stop bit are erased by the LSI 44 and sent from the communication buffer 45 to the modem 46, the control signal of the serial communication LSI 44 controls so that the DTE side does not send the data. By this control, the communication buffer 45 in this embodiment can theoretically be a 1-bit buffer.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
Even if the facsimile machine has no image memory or the memory capacity is small, the image data on the DTE or the DTE
The image data stored as an image file in the inside can be transmitted to the facsimile device on the other side through the facsimile device.

Further, the cost can be reduced by the fact that the conventional facsimile apparatus does not have the image memory, as compared with the case where the same function is to be realized.

Further, by adjusting (increasing the transmission rate) the transmission rate between the DTE and the facsimile, it is not necessary to delay the transmission rate to the line of the facsimile.

In the present embodiment, the facsimile apparatus having the serial transmission interface has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to any communication device having the serial transmission interface. Is.

The present invention may be applied to a system composed of a plurality of devices or an apparatus composed of a single device. It goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to the case where it is achieved by supplying a program to a system or an apparatus.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even when there is no image memory in the device or the device has a small capacity, the image data can be transmitted from the data terminal, so that reliable and high-speed transmission is possible and the convenience of the device can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile apparatus in this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a communication form of image data in the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a correspondence between a transmission rate and a data transfer rate in the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a data flow between a DTE and a facsimile in this embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 RAM 4 Nonvolatile RAM 5 CG 6 Recording unit 7 Reading unit 8 Modem unit 9 NCU 10 Telephone line 11 Telephone 12 Operating unit 13 Display unit 14 Serial transmission LSI 15 RS232C interface 16 DTE (data terminal)

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. In a facsimile apparatus having a serial transmission interface, control means for controlling a data transfer rate with a connected data terminal, and the data transfer rate controlled by the control means A facsimile machine comprising a data communication means for performing data communication with a data terminal.