JPH06141106A - Communication connection system for facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the reliability, the operability and the performance of a facsimile equipment by notifying surely the connection state of the communication state of the facsimile equipment capable of being connected to plural lines to the user. CONSTITUTION:The communication connection system of the facsimile equipment using plural lines shared with a telephone set 9 is provided with a connection discrimination section 15 that discriminates the telephone set 9 set to a state not to be connected to any line or a disable state of the remote switching from a destination line with the telephone set 9 connected thereto or from the telephone set 9 to the facsimile equipment, a voice message transmission section 12 sending a voice message corresponding to the content of discrimination by the connection discrimination section 15 to the telephone set 9 and a connection switching section 16 controlling the connection between the voice message transmissions section 12 and the telephone set 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for connecting a facsimile to both an extension line and an outside line, or to both a digital line and an analog line, and in particular, notifies the user of the connection state of the facsimile by a voice message. However, the present invention relates to a facsimile communication connection system suitable for improving the operability of a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a current facsimile that can be connected to an extension line and an extension line, when one line is in communication and the telephone is off-hook to make a call on the other line, the user can I don't know which external line is connected. Also, in the mode where the phone is disconnected from the line during standby, if one line is communicating and the other line is receiving a ringing signal, the phone remains off-hook to make a call. If you connect to the line with the ringing signal, you will receive the call, so you will not connect the telephone to the line. And in such a state, the user
I don't understand why I can't make a call.

Further, in a facsimile which can be connected to a digital line and an analog line and has a remote switching function for switching a telephone in communication to a facsimile,
If you are talking on an analog line during G3 communication on a digital line and you are trying to perform a remote switch from a telephone to a facsimile, the modem or the like is used for G3 communication on the digital line. Can't do. Even in such a case, the user cannot understand the reason why the remote switching cannot be performed.

Conventionally, as a technique for notifying the user of such a facsimile connection state, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
There is one described in Japanese Patent No. 223868. In this technique, when a user off-hooks a telephone during facsimile communication, a message informs the user that a call cannot be made because the communication is in progress. As a result, the user can easily determine whether the telephone line is used for facsimile or the line is out of order.

However, this prior art does not consider a facsimile that can be connected to both an extension line and an outside line, or to both a digital line and an analog line. Therefore, in the case of a facsimile connected to such multiple lines, it is possible to make a call using a line that is not used, but when a message such as the above is used, it is possible to make a call. Disappear.

[0006]

The problem to be solved is that the prior art does not consider a facsimile which can be connected to a plurality of lines, and accurately notifies the user of the connection state of the facsimile. This is a point that cannot be done. The object of the present invention is to solve these problems of the prior art, to accurately notify the user of the connection status and communication status of a facsimile connectable to a plurality of lines, and to improve the reliability, operability, and performance of the facsimile. It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile communication connection system capable of improving the communication quality.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a facsimile communication connection system of the present invention comprises:
(1) In a facsimile communication connection system in which an extension line and an outside line are shared by a telephone and a facsimile machine, and a telephone call is connected to the telephone on the idle side during facsimile communication on either the extension line or the outside line. A first connection determining unit that determines whether the telephone can be connected to an extension line or an outside line when the telephone is off-hook, and a first voice that sends a voice message indicating the determination result of the first connection determining unit to the telephone. A first connection for connecting the telephone to either an extension line or an outside line, based on the result of the judgment of the first connection destination judgment unit after the message transmission unit and the transmission of the voice message from the first voice message transmission unit. And a switching unit. (2) In the facsimile communication connection system according to (1) above, when the first connection determination unit determines that the telephone cannot be connected to either the extension line or the outside line when the telephone is off-hook, First
Is provided with a line monitoring unit for transmitting a voice message indicating a connection hold state through the voice message transmitting unit and monitoring whether any of the extension line and the outside line becomes idle. (3) In the facsimile communication connection system in which the digital line and the analog line are shared by the telephone and the facsimile, and the telephone is connected by the analog line during the G3 communication of the facsimile on the digital line, the analog line is used. When a remote switching signal for switching the connection to the analog line to the facsimile is sent from the telephone in the call, if the facsimile is in the G3 communication on the digital line, the connection is switched to the analog line based on the remote switching signal. A second connection determining unit that determines that the connection switching is not possible, a second voice message transmitting unit that transmits a voice message corresponding to the determination content of the connection switching of the second connection determining unit, and
A second connection switching unit that disconnects the connection between the telephone and the analog line and switches the connection destination of the telephone to the second voice message sending unit based on the determination result of the connection switching of the connection determination unit of Is characterized by.

[0008]

According to the present invention, when the telephone is off-hook during the facsimile communication on either the extension line or the outside line, first, the telephone is connected to the first voice message sending unit and to which line. A voice message indicating whether or not to send is sent to the telephone. After sending this voice message, the telephone is connected to the other free side. This allows the phone user to
You can know which side is connected to the extension line or the outside line. Also, when the telephone is off-hook during facsimile communication on either the extension line or the outside line,
When the ringing signal is coming to the line on the side not performing the facsimile communication, the telephone is once connected to the first voice message sending unit and the voice message indicating the continuation of the standby state is sent to the telephone. . This allows the user of the telephone to easily know the reason why the call cannot be made. Then, when the facsimile communication ends or when the ringing signal is no longer detected and one of the lines becomes idle, a voice message indicating which line to connect again is sent to the telephone. Then, connect the telephone to the free line. Also, during a facsimile communication on a digital line, if a remote switching operation from the telephone to the facsimile is performed from a telephone that is talking on an analog line, the destination of the telephone is the second voice message from the analog line. Switch to the section and send out the reason for this connection disconnection by voice message. This allows the user of the telephone to know the use that cannot be remotely switched.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a configuration relating to the present invention of a facsimile communication connection system of the present invention. In the figure, reference numerals 1 and 2 respectively denote an external line and an extension line to which the facsimile of this embodiment is connected, and 3 and 4, respectively.
Is a ringing signal detecting section for detecting ringing signals from the outside line 1 and the inside line 2, respectively, 5 is a transformer (indicated as Tr in the figure) for separating the primary side and the secondary side during communication, and 6 is a signal A modem for demodulating and modulating the signal, a relay for switching a communication destination between the external line 1 and the internal line 2 (described as RL in the figure), and 8 for
A relay for switching the connection of the telephone to the outside line 1 and the extension line 2 (denoted by RL in the drawing), 9 is a telephone connected to the facsimile of the present embodiment, and 10 is an off-hook detection unit for detecting the off-hook of the telephone 9. , 11 connect the telephone 9 to the line side 2
A relay (denoted by RL in the drawing) for switching to the next line side (voice message sending unit side), 12 is a first voice message sending unit according to the present invention for sending a voice message to the telephone 9, and 13 is a communication A relay for occasionally closing the line (denoted by RL in the figure), 14 is a control unit for performing overall control of connection operation at the time of communication, and 15 is off-hook based on the usage state of the outside line 1 and the inside line 2. The first connection determination unit 16 according to the present invention, which determines whether the telephone 9 can be connected to the extension 2 or the external line 1, is the first connection destination determination unit 1
The first connection switching unit according to the present invention, which connects the telephone 9 to either the extension 2 or the extension 1 based on the result of the determination of 5,
Reference numeral 17 denotes a line monitoring unit according to the present invention that monitors whether the extension line 2 or the extension line 1 becomes idle when the telephone 9 cannot be connected to the extension line 2 or the extension line 1.

The operation of the facsimile having such a structure according to the present invention will be described below. In this figure,
The facsimile is communicating with the outside line 1 through the relays 7 and 13, the transformer 5, and the modem 6, and
The telephone 9 is not on the extension 2 side due to the relays 8 and 11,
First voice message sending unit 1 on secondary side of facsimile
It is in the state of being connected to 2. In this way, while the facsimile communication is being performed on the outside line 1, the user
When the telephone 9 is used, the off-hook detector 10 detects the off-hook of the telephone 9. At this time, the first connection determination unit 15 determines whether or not a call signal is coming from the extension 2 via the call signal detection unit 4 for the extension 2.

If the ringing signal is not received from the extension 2, the first connection determination unit 15 determines that the extension 2 is unused. Based on this determination, the first voice message sending unit 1
2 sends a message such as "Connect to an extension because an external line is being used." To the telephone 9 via the relay 11. This first voice message sending unit 1
After sending the message by the second connection, the first connection switching unit 16
Activates the relay 11 to connect the telephone 9 to the extension 2 side.

If the call signal comes from the extension 2,
The first connection determination unit 15 determines that the extension is being used, and based on this determination, the first voice message sending unit 12 displays, for example, "the extension and the external line are in use. Please wait for a while." The message is sent to the telephone 9. Then, the first connection determination unit 15 causes the line monitoring unit 17 to
The monitoring is continued until either the ringing signal of the extension line 2 ends or the communication of the outside line 1 ends.

Here, if the ringing signal of the extension 2 is terminated first, the first connection judging section 15 judges that the extension is unused, and the first voice message sending section 12 judges that the extension is unused. A message such as "I am connecting to an extension because an external line is being used." Is sent to the telephone set 9, and after sending this message, the first connection switching unit 16 activates the relay 11.
The telephone 9 is connected to the extension 2 side. If the outside line 1 is terminated first, the first connection determination unit 15 determines that the outside line is unused. In this case, the first voice message sending unit 12
For example, a message such as "Connecting to an outside line because the extension is in use" is sent to the telephone 9 via the relay 11. Then, the first voice message sending unit 12
After sending the message by the first connection switching unit 16
Switches the relays 7, 8, 11, 13 to connect the telephone 9 to the outside line 1.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the extension 2
Alternatively, when the telephone 9 is off-hook during the facsimile communication on one of the outside lines 1, the telephone 9 is temporarily connected to the first voice message sending unit 12 and a voice indicating which line is connected. After sending the message to the telephone 9, the telephone 9 is sent to the other free side.
Connect. As a result, the user of the telephone 9 can know which side, the extension line or the outside line, is connected to. Also, when the telephone 9 is off-hook during facsimile communication on either the extension 2 or the outside line 1, when the call signal is coming to the side not performing the facsimile communication, the first voice Message sending unit 1
From 2 to the telephone 9, the voice message indicating the continuation of the standby state is transmitted. As a result, the user of the telephone 9
You can easily know the reason why you cannot make a call.

The operation of the facsimile communication connection system of the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. As an example, in the standby state of the facsimile,
The telephone 9 is assumed to be disconnected from the line.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of the processing operation according to the present invention of the facsimile communication connection system in FIG. Whether or not communication is always performed between the extension line and the outside line is constantly detected (step 10
1, 102), for example, when the off-hook detection unit 10 of FIG. 1 detects the off-hook of the telephone 9 of FIG. 1 (step 104) while communication is being performed on an outside line (step 103), The call signal detection unit 4 of FIG.
It is judged whether or not the call signal is coming from the extension 2 of the above (step 105).

If the ringing signal is not received from the extension 2 in FIG. 1, the first connection determining unit 15 in FIG. 1 determines that the extension is unused, and the voice message sending unit 12 in FIG.
For example, a message such as "Connecting to an extension because an outside line is being used." Is sent to the telephone 9 in FIG. 1 (step 111). Then, the first connection switching unit 16 of FIG. 1 operates the relay 11 of FIG. 1 to connect the telephone 9 of FIG. 1 to the extension 2 (step 112). In addition, extension 2 in FIG.
If the call signal comes from the first connection determination unit 1 of FIG.
5, it is determined that the extension is in use, and the voice message sending unit 12 in FIG. 1 sends a message such as “Internal and external lines are in use. Please wait for a while.” To the telephone 9 in FIG. 1 ( Step 106). And
The line monitoring unit 17 in FIG. 1 repeatedly detects whether the ringing signal for the extension 2 in FIG. 1 ends (step 107) or the communication for the outside line 1 in FIG. 1 ends (step 108).

Here, if the ringing signal of the extension 2 of FIG. 1 is terminated first (step 107), the first connection determination unit 15 of FIG. 1 determines that the extension is unused, and the process proceeds to step 111. . In addition, if the outside line 1 of FIG.
The first connection determination unit 15 determines that the outside line is unused,
The voice message sending unit 12 in FIG. 1 sends a message such as "Connecting to an outside line because an extension is in use" to the telephone 9 in FIG. 1 (step 109). Then, the first connection switching unit 16 of FIG. 1 switches the relays 7, 8, 11, and 13 of FIG. 1 to connect the telephone 9 of FIG. 1 to the outside line 1 (step 110).

Further, in step 101, the extension communication is performed, and while the extension communication is performed (step 113), the off-hook detection unit 1 of FIG.
When the off-hook of the telephone 9 of FIG. 1 is detected by 0 (step 114), the ringing signal detector 3 of FIG. 1 determines whether or not the ringing signal is coming from the outside line 1 of FIG. 1 (step 115). . If the ringing signal is not coming from the outside line 1 of FIG. 1, the first connection judging unit 15 of FIG. 1 judges that the outside line is unused, and proceeds to the processing from step 109 onward, and from the extension line 2 of FIG. If there is a ringing signal,
The first connection determination unit 15 in FIG. 1 determines that the outside line is being used, and the process proceeds to step 106 and subsequent steps.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the user can know the shared external line and internal line, and the connection state between the telephone and the facsimile by a voice message. Next, ISDN (Int
integrated Services Digital
A facsimile communication connection system of the present invention when a digital line and an analog line of a network (service integrated digital communication network) are shared by a telephone and a facsimile will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the configuration relating to the present invention of the facsimile communication connection system of the present invention. In the figure, 18 and 19 are ISDN lines and analog lines to which the facsimile of this embodiment is connected, 20 is an ISDN interface for controlling connection with the ISDN line 18 (indicated as ISDN I / F in the figure), Reference numeral 21 is a codec circuit for digital / analog conversion, 22 is a modem for demodulating and modulating a signal,
23 is a relay for switching the connection of the modem 22 to the ISDN line 18 and the analog line 19 (indicated by RL in the figure), 24
Is a ringing signal detection unit that detects a ringing signal from the analog line 19, 25 is a transformer (indicated as Tr in the figure) that separates the primary side and the secondary side during communication, and 26 is the line closed during communication. Relay for performing the operation (indicated as RL in the figure), 27
Is a telephone connected to a facsimile, 28 is an off-hook detector for detecting off-hook of the telephone 27, 29
Is a relay (described as RL in the figure) for switching the telephone 27 between the line side and the secondary side (second voice message sending section side),
Reference numeral 30 is a remote switching signal detection unit that detects a remote switching signal from the telephone 27, 31 is a second voice message transmitting unit according to the present invention that transmits a voice message to the telephone 27, and 32 is a connection operation during communication. The control unit 33 for performing the overall control of the second connection determination unit 3 according to the present invention determines whether or not the connection can be switched based on the remote switching signal transmitted from the telephone 27 that is talking on the analog line 19.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a second connection switching unit according to the present invention, which switches the connection destination of the telephone 27 based on the result of the connection switching determination by the second connection determination unit 33.

The operation of the facsimile having such a structure according to the present invention will be described below. In this figure,
The facsimile is communicating on the ISDN line 18 via the ISDN interface 20, the codec circuit 21, and the relay 23 and the modem 22, and the telephone set 27 is connected to the analog line 19 by the relay 29. It is in a state. The off-hook detection unit 28 of the control unit 32 knows that the telephone set 27 is in use. At this time, the relays 23, 26 and 29 are connected as shown in the figure.

In such a connected state, the telephone 27
In order to switch the connection with the analog line 19 used in the system to the facsimile, when the user instructs the remote switching from the telephone 27, the remote switching signal detection unit 30
Thus, this remote switching signal is detected. And
The second connection determination unit 33 determines whether or not connection switching can be performed based on the remote switching signal transmitted from the telephone 27.

For example, a facsimile is an ISDN line 1
If communication is not being performed via the modem 22 at 8, the second connection determination unit 33 determines that connection switching based on the remote switching signal sent from the telephone 27 is possible. Then, based on this determination, the second connection switching unit 34 switches the relays 23, 26 and 29 to perform the remote switching operation from the telephone 27 to the facsimile.

However, the facsimile is connected to the ISDN line 1
If communication is being performed via the modem 22 at 8, the second connection determination unit 33 determines that connection switching based on the remote switching signal transmitted from the telephone 27 is impossible. Based on this determination, the second connection switching unit 34 causes the relay 29
To switch the telephone 27 from the analog line 19 and connect it to the second voice message sending unit 31.
Then, the second voice message sending unit 31 responds to the content of the second connection determining unit 33 that the connection cannot be switched, for example, "The line has been opened because ISDN is in use." The message is sent to the telephone 27.

As described above, in the second embodiment, during the facsimile communication on the digital line 18, the remote switching signal from the telephone 27 to the facsimile is input from the telephone 27, which is talking on the analog line 19. in case of,
The connection destination of the telephone set 27 is switched from the analog line 19 to the second voice message sending unit 31, and the reason for disconnecting the connection is sent as a voice message.

The operation of the facsimile communication connection system of the second embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an embodiment of the processing operation according to the present invention of the facsimile communication connection system in FIG. First, the control unit 32 of FIG. 3 detects that the telephone 27 is in use on the analog line 19 of FIG. 3 by the off-hook detection unit 28 of FIG. 3 (step 1).
16). Here, when the user of the telephone 27 of FIG. 3 performs a remote switching operation, the remote switching signal detection unit 3 of FIG.
0 to detect the remote switching signal (step 11
7). At this time, the second connection determination unit 33 of FIG. 3 causes the facsimile to use the modem 22 of FIG.
It is determined whether or not communication is being performed through the DN line 18 (step 118).

If the ISDN communication in G3 is not performed, the second connection switching unit 34 in FIG. 3 switches the relays 23, 26 and 29 in FIG. 3 to perform a remote switching operation from the telephone to the facsimile. Enter (Step 11
9). If the ISDN communication in G3 is performed, the relay 29 of FIG. 3 is switched to connect the telephone 27 of FIG. 3 from the analog line 19 of FIG. 3 to the second voice message of FIG. Switching to the connection with the transmission unit 31 (step 120), the voice message transmission unit 31 of FIG. 3 transmits a message such as "The line has been opened because ISDN is in use" to the telephone set 27 ( Step 121). In this way, according to the second embodiment, the user of the telephone can know the use for which remote switching is not possible.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, in the facsimile communication connection system of this embodiment,
For example, in the case of a facsimile that can be connected to an extension line and an outside line, when one line is communicating and the other line is used to make a call for a call, the facsimile machine determines which line can be called. Since the information can be learned from the telephone connected to the user, the user can easily make a call even in the place where the facsimile main body is used. Furthermore, if you try to make a call using the other line while communicating on one line, you can prevent accidentally receiving an incoming call from the line and use it. It is easy to understand the reason why the person cannot make a call.

Further, in a facsimile which can be connected to an analog line and a digital line, when a remote call switching function is used to switch the telephone call state of the analog line to the facsimile communication state, a modem is used by the digital line. If the remote switching is not possible, the reason is notified to the telephone by voice message. As a result, the user can be prevented from making a mistake and erroneously assuming that the remote switching has been completed. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0031]

According to the present invention, it is possible to accurately notify the user of the connection status and communication status of a facsimile that can be connected to a plurality of lines, and to improve the reliability, operability, and performance of the facsimile. It is possible to improve.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a configuration relating to the present invention of a facsimile communication connection system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the processing operation according to the present invention of the facsimile communication connection system in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the configuration related to the present invention of the facsimile communication connection system of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of the processing operation according to the present invention of the facsimile communication connection system in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 External line 2 Extension line 3 and 4 Ringing signal detection unit 5 Transformer 6 Modem 7, 8 Relay 9 Telephone 10 Off-hook detection unit 11 Relay 12 First voice message sending unit 13 Relay 14 Control unit 15 First connection determination unit 16 First Connection switching part 17 Line monitoring part 18 ISDN line 19 Analog line 20 ISDN interface 21 Codec circuit 22 Modem 23 Relay 24 Ringing signal detecting part 25 Transformer 26 Relay 27 Telephone 28 Off-hook detecting part 29 Relay 30 Remote switching signal detecting part 31 Second Voice message sending unit 32 control unit 33 second connection determining unit 34 second connection switching unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile communication connection system in which an internal line and an external line are shared by a telephone and a facsimile, and the telephone is connected to the telephone on the vacant side during facsimile communication on either the internal line or the external line. In the above, when the telephone is off-hook, first connection determining means for determining whether the telephone can be connected to the extension line or the outside line,
First voice message sending means for sending a voice message indicating the result of the decision made by the first connection decision means to the telephone, and the first connection after sending the voice message from the first voice message sending means. A facsimile communication connection system comprising: a first connection switching means for connecting the telephone to either the extension line or the outside line based on the result of the determination by the preceding determination means. 2. The facsimile communication connection system according to claim 1, wherein the first connection judging means judges that the telephone cannot be connected to either the extension line or the outside line when the telephone is off-hook. And a line monitoring unit for sending a voice message indicating a connection hold state via the first voice message sending unit and monitoring whether any of the extension line and the outside line is idle. Facsimile communication connection system. 3. A facsimile communication connection system in which a digital line and an analog line are shared by a telephone and a facsimile, and the telephone is connected by the analog line during G3 communication of the facsimile on the digital line. If the remote switching signal for switching the connection to the analog line to the facsimile is sent from the telephone that is talking on the analog line, and if the facsimile is in the G3 communication on the digital line, the remote switching signal. Second connection determining means for determining that the connection switching to the analog line based on the above is impossible, and a second connection for transmitting a voice message corresponding to the content of the connection switching determination of the second connection determining means. Based on the judgment result of the connection switching of the voice message sending means and the second connection judging means. Then, the connection between the telephone and the analog line is disconnected and the connection destination of the telephone is changed to the second
And a second connection switching means for switching to the voice message sending means.