JPH053949B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field This invention relates to a data transmission system, and in particular,
The present invention relates to a data transmission system that sequentially transmits the same data to multiple transmission destinations.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when transmitting data using a transmission device such as a facsimile, the following procedure is used when transmitting the same document to multiple transmission destinations.
In other words, call the first destination, and once the line is connected, send the document while it is being read, and
When the transmission to the second transmission destination is completed, a telephone call is made to the second transmission destination, and when the line is connected, the document is read and transmitted again. The same cycle is repeated for transmission to the third and subsequent transmission destinations. If the transmission destinations are gathered in a certain area, there is no need to transmit data sequentially from one source to the transmission destinations, and it is possible to make arrangements in advance or write a request for transmission in the manuscript to be sent. For example, a method can be used in which the information is transmitted to a representative destination, and from there the information is transmitted to nearby destinations. It is also possible to adopt a method of transmitting data one after another. In some cases, transmission charges can be reduced by doing so, but each operator is forced to take extra effort.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention As mentioned above, when data is transmitted sequentially to multiple transmission destinations using a conventional data transmission device,
Each transmission device requires an operator, who must perform operations each time data is transmitted. If the operator forgets to transmit to the next transmission destination, no data will be transmitted to the transmission destinations after that transmission device.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention includes at least a first transmission device that transmits original data to be transmitted, and a plurality of transmission devices that receive the transmitted data and transmit the received data to the next transmission destination. A data transmission system that transmits common data to a plurality of transmission destinations via a telephone line, the first transmission device comprising at least a means for reading the common data, and a reading means for reading the common data. a first storage means for storing common data read by the user; a means for inputting telephone number data of a plurality of transmission destinations; and a means for storing telephone number data of a plurality of transmission destinations input from the input means. common data dialed based on the first destination telephone number data stored in a specific position of the second storage means and stored in the first storage means; and means for transmitting telephone number data excluding the telephone number data of the first transmission destination among the data stored in the second storage means, each of the second transmission devices at least transmits the transmitted common data. a third storage means for storing the transmitted telephone number data; a means for outputting the common data stored in the third storage means; and identification of the fourth storage means. dialing based on the second transmission destination telephone number data stored in the position of and a means for transmitting telephone number data excluding the previous telephone number data, and by sequentially repeating the transmission while subtracting the telephone number data of the transmission destination with each transmission, all input to the first transmission device is transmitted. It is characterized in that common data is transmitted to the transmission destination. The first above
The transmission device may include output means for outputting a transmission end message in response to being dialed from the last transmission device of the second transmission device to the first transmission device.

Operation When the reading means of the first transmission device reads common data to be commonly transmitted to a plurality of transmission destinations, the first storage means stores the read common data. When telephone number data of a plurality of transmission destinations are inputted from the input means, the second storage means stores the inputted plurality of transmission destination telephone number data. The transmission means performs dialing based on the first transmission destination telephone number data stored in a specific position of the second storage means, and the common data stored in the first storage means;
Of the data stored in the second storage means, the first
The telephone number data excluding the transmission destination telephone number data is transmitted.

When each of the second transmission devices transmits data, the third storage means stores the transmitted common data, and the fourth storage means stores the transmitted telephone number data. The output means outputs the common data stored in the third storage means. The transmission means performs dialing based on the second transmission destination telephone number data stored in a specific position of the fourth storage means, and
The common data stored in the fourth storage means and the telephone number data excluding the telephone number data of the second transmission destination among the data stored in the fourth storage means are transmitted.

By repeating transmission between the plurality of second transmission devices, common data is transmitted to all transmission destinations.

Further, when the first transmission device is equipped with a means for outputting a transmission end message, the plurality of transmission destination telephone number data stored in the second storage means includes the telephone number of the first transmission device itself, The last transmission device of the plurality of second transmission devices receives the telephone number data of the first transmission device from the previous transmission device. Therefore, when the last transmission device dials the first transmission device, the message output means outputs a transmission end message.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the flow of data in a data transmission system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As will be explained later in FIG. 2, the A station 11 to the D station 14 are equipped with a transmission device for transmitting data. A station 11 is the first source and B station 12
The D stations 14 are stations to which transmitted data is sequentially transferred. Input data 90 is input to the transmission device of the A station 11. The input data includes common data commonly transmitted to each station and telephone number data of multiple transmission destinations. The common data is, for example, data such as a manuscript. The final data of the plurality of telephone numbers is the caller's telephone number data. There is no need for the operator to input this caller's telephone number at the A station 11, and it is automatically added when the input of the telephone numbers of the plurality of transmission destinations is completed. The transmission device at each station dials the first telephone number among the input or transmitted telephone numbers of the plurality of transmission destinations. When the operator at A station 11 instructs transmission,
Data is transmitted from A station 11 to B station 12. The data 91 to be transmitted is common data and transmission destination telephone number data,
In this case, the telephone number of station B, which is the transmission destination, is excluded. When the transmission device of the B station 12 receives the data transmitted from the A station 11, it prints the common data and dials the C station 13. In this way, when the telephone number data of the transmission destination is removed each time transmission is performed, the transmission data 9 containing the common data and the telephone number data of the A station is stored at the D station 14.
3 is transmitted. Therefore, when the B station 14 receives the transmission data from the C station 13, it transmits the transmission data 94 containing only the common data to the A station 11. A station 1
In No. 1, the transmitted common data is transmitted to each station and then returned, so it can be known that the data transmission has been completed without checking with each station. Even though each station dials the next station, if the line cannot be connected because the destination is on the phone, etc., the next station is dialed. For example, if the line is not connected even when dialing from station B to station C, the line is dialed to station D. When transmission is not possible, as in this case, the telephone number data of the transmission destination is transmitted to the original station A. Thereby, station A can know to which station data has not been transmitted.

FIG. 2 shows the transmission device 1 provided at each station in FIG. The transmission device 1 is equipped with a CPU 5. CPU5 has reader 2 and keyboard 3
and memory 4 are connected. The reader 2 is for reading a document to be transmitted. The keyboard 3 includes a numeric keypad for inputting telephone numbers, a completion key for instructing completion of input of each telephone number, and a send key for instructing transmission of transmission data. The memory 4 stores data read from the reader 2 and information input from the keyboard 3, as well as operating programs for the CPU 5 shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, which will be described later. Furthermore, a display 6, a printer 7, and a modem 8 are connected to the CPU 5. The display 6 is used to guide the person using the transmission device 1 through necessary procedures. The printer 7 is used to print the received transmission data, or to print the telephone number of the transmission destination when the transmission destination is on the phone and the telephone line cannot be connected. The modem 8 is for transmitting and receiving data.

FIG. 3 shows a storage area 40 of the memory 4 shown in FIG.
shows. The storage area 40 includes a transmission data storage area 41, a reception data storage area 42, and a C counter 4.
3. n counter 44 and number buffer (S) 4
5 is included.

The transmission data storage area 41 includes a common data storage area 46 in which data such as documents commonly transmitted to each station is stored, and a transmission destination telephone number storage area 47 in which telephone number data of a plurality of transmission destinations is stored. It will be done. In addition, in the transmission data storage area, there is an i-counter 48 that decrements the count by "1" each time data is transmitted to one station, and a transfer flag that instructs to transfer data to the next transmission destination. (F)49 is included.
When data transmission to all destinations is completed, i
The count number of the counter becomes "0". Also, i
The counter is also used to count the number of destination telephone number data input at the originating station. The transmission flag (F) is, for example, "1" when instructing transfer, and is, for example, "0" when not transferring. The transfer flag (F) becomes "1" when the destination telephone number storage area 47 stores telephone number data other than the originator's telephone number, and becomes "1" when only the originator's telephone number data is stored. When the number of data reaches "1", it becomes "0". Furthermore, the transmission data storage area 41 includes a transmission-disabled telephone number storage area 50. There are cases where transmission cannot be performed because the destination is on the phone, etc., but the above-mentioned transmission-disabled telephone number storage area 50 stores the telephone number data of the destination in that case.

The received data storage area 42 has the same configuration as the transmitted data storage area 41. That is, the received data storage area 42 is the common data storage area 5.
1, a transmission destination telephone number storage area 52, a j counter 53, a transfer flag (G) 54, and a transmission prohibited telephone number storage area 55. Each reception data storage area has a corresponding relationship with each storage area of the above-mentioned transmission data storage area 47.

The C counter 43 is for counting the number of times transmission is disabled at a certain station. The n counter 44 is used to determine the position of a pointer indicating the destination to be dialed in the destination telephone number storage area 47. A numeric buffer (S) 45 is used to temporarily hold input data when a destination telephone number is input at the originating station.

Figure 4 shows the transmission data storage area 4 shown in Figure 3.
1 shows a destination telephone number storage area 47 included in FIG. The destination telephone number storage area 47 is a collection of storage areas in which each telephone number is stored, as shown in the figure. The destination telephone numbers input at the originating station are stored in the destination telephone number storage area 47 in the order in which they are input. Following the destination telephone number data, the originator's telephone number data is stored. For example, ten telephone number data can be stored in the transmission destination telephone number storage area 47, but the figure shows a state in which four telephone number data are stored. The third telephone numbers (T ₁ to _{T 3} ) from the beginning are the telephone numbers of the transmission destination, and the last telephone number (T ₀ ) is the telephone number of the originator.

Figure 5 shows the transmission data storage area 4 shown in Figure 3.
Telephone number data (X ₁ to X ₂ ) of transmission destinations that could not be transmitted to the transmission impossible telephone number storage area 50 of 1
Indicates the stored state.

Figure 6 shows the received data storage area 4 shown in Figure 3.
2 shows a state where transmission destination telephone number data (N ₁ to N ₃ and N ₀ ) is stored in the transmission destination telephone number area 52 of No. 2.

Figure 7 shows the received data storage area 4 shown in Figure 3.
Telephone number data (Y ₁ to _Y 2 ) of transmission destinations that could not be transmitted to the transmission impossible telephone number storage area 55 of 2.
Indicates the stored state.

Figure 8 shows the step of inputting data to the transmission device 1 provided at the source station.
5 is a flow diagram for explaining the operation of the CPU 5. FIG.
Next, the data input steps will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 through 8.

When an operator at station A shown in FIG. 1 inserts a document to be transmitted into the reader 2, the reader 2 reads the document (step S1). continue,
The CPU 5 clears the numeric buffer (S) and C counter, and sets the i counter and n counter to "1", respectively (S2). In step S3, a message is displayed on the display 6 to prompt the user to input the destination telephone number. The operator starts inputting, for example, the telephone number (T ₁ ) of station B from the keyboard 3 . When there is an input (step S4), the CPU 5 determines whether the completion key has been inputted each time (step S5), and if it is not the completion key, then it determines whether or not the send key has been inputted. (Step S10). Since the telephone number has been input here, the process advances to step S11. The input telephone number data is stored one digit at a time in the numeric buffer (S). In the numeric buffer (S), each time there is an input, the stored data is shifted to the upper digits (step S11), and the next input number data is sequentially stored in the lower digits (step S12). ).
When the input of the telephone number (T ₁ ) of station B is completed, the operator inputs the completion key (step S5). Then, the process advances to step S6, and the telephone number data stored in the numeric buffer (S) is transferred to and stored in the destination telephone number storage area 47 shown in FIG. 4 (step S6). continue,
The CPU 5 clears the numeric buffer (S) (step S7) and increments the i counter 48 by "1" (step S8). The i counter counts the number of input destination telephone number data as explained in FIG. 3 above. In step S9, it is determined whether the count number of the i counter has reached "10" or not. The loop from step S4 to step S12 is repeated, and, for example, three transmission destination telephone number data (T ₁ to _{T 3} ) are sequentially stored in the transmission destination telephone number storage area 47 as shown in FIG. When the input is completed, the operator inputs the transmission key (step S10). When the transmission key is input, the CPU 5 stores the telephone number data (T ₀ ) of the transmission source, for example, station A, in the transmission destination telephone number storage area 47 following the transmission destination telephone number data, as shown in FIG. The destination phone number storage area can store, for example, 10 destination phone numbers, including the sender's phone number data, so when the i-counter reaches 10, the display will 6 indicates that no further input is possible (step S13), and waits for the transmission key to be input (step S14). The operation when the send key is input is the same as described above.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram for explaining the operation of the CPU 5 in the step of transmitting input or transmitted data. Next, the data transmission steps will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

In step S15, it is determined whether data transmission to all destinations except the source has been completed. Here, the n counter is "1", so
The CPU 5 determines whether a telephone number is stored in the second storage area of the transmission destination telephone number storage area 47. Since the transmission destination telephone number data (T ₂ ) is stored, the process advances to step S16. In step S16, the CPU 5 reads the telephone number data of the transmission destination from the transmission destination telephone number storage area 47 and dials it. Here, for example, a call is made to station B (telephone number T ₁ ). If the line is not connected, dialing is repeated up to five times after a certain period of time, as will be explained later, but once the line is connected and data transmission is possible,
The CPU 5 decrements the count number of the i counter by "1" (step S26) and transmits the data (step S27). _{The data to be transmitted includes the common data stored in the transmission data storage area 41 and the transmission destination telephone number data (for example, T 2 ,} T ₃ and
T ₀ ), the i value indicated by the i counter, the F value indicated by the transfer flag (F), and the non-transferable telephone number data. In this case, since there is no telephone number data that cannot be transmitted, the corresponding blank character data is transmitted for this part. If the line is not connected and transmission is not possible in step S17, the process advances to step S18 and a timer is set (step S18). For example, when the time is up after 3 minutes (step S19), the C counter is incremented by "1" (step S20), and in step S21, it is determined whether the C counter has reached "5" or not. If the destination has not been reached, the process returns to step S15 and dials the same destination again. As explained in FIG. 3 above, the C counter counts the number of times transmission is not possible to the same transmission destination. For example, if the line is not connected even after repeating the process five times, data will not be transmitted to that transmission destination, and the telephone number data of that transmission destination will be stored in the transmission-disabled telephone number storage area 50. The telephone number data stored in 47 is deleted. In the transmission destination telephone number storage area, the telephone number data following the erased telephone number data is moved forward one by one. Step S22
Now, clear the C counter and add "1" to the n counter. In step S23, it is determined whether or not transmission is not possible for all of the remaining transmission destinations stored in the transmission destination telephone number storage area 47. When the count number of the n counter and the count number of the i counter become equal, it indicates that transmission to all remaining transmission destinations has not been possible. Here, the result is negative, so the process returns to step S15. Since the count number of the n counter is "2", the CPU 15 determines whether or not the destination telephone number data is stored in the "third" storage area of the destination telephone number storage area 47. Since the telephone number data (T ₃ ) which is the telephone number of the D station is stored here, the step
Proceeding to S16, the telephone number (T ₂ ), which is the telephone number of the C station, is dialed (step S16).
The subsequent steps are the same as described above. In this way, if the line is not connected to any destination and data cannot be transmitted, the process advances to step S24, where the printer 7 prints out the telephone number to which transmission is not possible, and the operation ends.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram for explaining the operation of the CPU 5 in the step of receiving transmitted data. Next, the data receiving step will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10.

For example, the transmission device 1 of the B station
When the CPU 5 receives the transmitted data, the third
The received data is stored in the received data storage area 42 shown in the figure (step S28). The data stored here is common data, transmission destination telephone number data, j
These are the counter value, the transfer flag (G) value, and the non-transferable telephone number data. In step S29, it is determined whether data transmission to all destinations including the source has been completed. If the transfer flag (G) is "1", the transfer has not ended. here,
For example, data transmission from station A to station B
If the station has received it, the transfer flag (G) is "1", so the process advances to step S32.
In step S32, the transmitted common data is printed by the printer 7. Subsequently, the CPU 5 transfers the data stored in the received data storage area 42 to the corresponding storage area in the transmitted data storage area 41 (step S33). Subsequently, the C counter is cleared and the n counter is set to "1" (step S34), and the process proceeds to step S15 in FIG. 9, where data is transmitted to the next transmission destination, for example, the C station.

When data transmitted from the source, for example station A, is transferred to each station in turn and reaches the last station, for example D,
The destination telephone number storage area 47 stores only the originator's telephone number data (T ₀ ). Therefore, in step S15 of FIG. 9, it is determined that data transmission to all destinations except the source has been completed, so the process advances to step S25. In step S25,
Since only one telephone number data is stored in the destination telephone number storage area 47, the transfer flag (F) becomes "0". In step S16, the station D dials the station A that is the originator. The data to be transmitted is common data and i
These are the value indicated by the counter, the value indicated by the transfer flag (F), and the telephone number data that cannot be transmitted. received A
At the station, the CPU 5 determines in step S29 that the transfer flag (G) is "0", so the process advances to step S30. In step S30, it is determined whether or not telephone number data is stored in the transmission-prohibited telephone number storage area 55. If the j counter is "0", data transmission to all destinations has been completed, so proceed to step S31 and proceed to "Transfer".
"OK" is printed by the printer 7 and the operation ends. However, if the j counter is not "0", the printer 7 prints the telephone number stored in the transmission-prohibited telephone number storage area 55 (step
S35), the operation ends.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the transmission data storage area and the reception data storage area are separate storage areas, and the received data is transferred to the transmission data storage area when transmitting, but the invention is not limited to this. One of the storage areas may be shared.

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, even when transmitting common data to a plurality of transmission destinations, it is only necessary to perform a data reading operation once. Since data is automatically transmitted sequentially from one transmission device to the next, there is no need for operator intervention. Further, when the transfer to all the transmission destinations is completed, the original data is returned to the transmission device to which it was input, so that it can be known that the data transmission has been completed. Further, according to the embodiment, since the telephone number data of the destinations to which the data was not transmitted is transmitted, it is easy to know to which destination the data was not transmitted.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the flow of data in a data transmission system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a transmission device used in a data transmission system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 to 7 are illustrative views of storage areas of the memory shown in FIG. 2. Figures 8 to 1
FIG. 0 is a flow diagram for explaining the operation of the transmission device shown in FIG. In the figure, 1 is a transmission device, 2 is a reader, 3 is a keyboard, 4 is a memory, 5 is a CPU, 6 is a display, 7 is a printer, 8 is a modem, 41 is a transmission data storage area, and 42 is a reception data storage Area, 4
6 and 51 are common data storage areas, 47 and 52 are transmission destination telephone number storage areas, and 50 and 55 are transmission prohibited telephone number storage areas.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. At least a first transmission device that transmits original data to be transmitted, and a plurality of second transmission devices that receive the transmitted data and transmit the received data to the next transmission destination. A data transmission system that transmits common data to a plurality of transmission destinations via a telephone line, the first transmission device including at least: means for reading the common data; and the reading means. a first storage means for storing common data read by the input means; means for inputting telephone number data of a plurality of transmission destinations; and storage means for storing telephone number data of a plurality of transmission destinations inputted from the input means. a second storage means for dialing based on first destination telephone number data stored in a specific position of the second storage means, and common data stored in the first storage means; and means for transmitting telephone number data excluding the telephone number data of the first transmission destination among the data stored in the second storage means, each of the second transmission devices at least: a third storage means for storing the transmitted common data; and a fourth storage means for storing the transmitted telephone number data.
storage means; means for outputting the common data stored in the third storage means; and dialing based on the second destination telephone number data stored in a specific position of the fourth storage means. means for transmitting the common data stored in the third storage means and the telephone number data excluding the telephone number data of the second transmission destination among the data stored in the fourth storage means; The common data is transmitted to all the transmission destinations input to the first transmission device by sequentially repeating the transmission while subtracting the telephone number data of the transmission destination for each transmission. data transmission system. 2. The first transmission device further includes means for outputting a transmission completion message, and the plurality of transmission destination telephone number data stored in the second storage means includes own telephone number data, The last transmission device of the second transmission device is adapted to receive the telephone number data of the first transmission device from the previous transmission device, and the message output means is arranged to receive telephone number data of the first transmission device from the last transmission device. 2. The data transmission system according to claim 1, wherein the transmission end message is output in response to being dialed by the transmission device.