JPH06177995A - Communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain communication equipment in which a history of remote data registration is left and the history, its communication state and a function of an object facsimile equipment are read by a host computer. CONSTITUTION:A communication adaptor 2 and a terminal facsimile equipment 3 are connected to a public line network. The communication adaptor 2 is in existence between a PC 1 and the public line and sends data to be set to the facsimile equipment 3 from the PC 1 to leave a history and reads a function of the facsimile equipment 3 and outputs the information to the PC 1. Furthermore, the PC 1 recognizes the communication state with the facsimile equipment 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication device for exchanging data with other terminals via communication, such as a facsimile device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been some apparatuses for performing communication such as facsimile, which are provided with a function of storing various kinds of data different for each user in advance. There are many registration items such as speed dials, user telephone numbers, and abbreviations in the registration process of these data, and the registration process has been performed manually by a service person or a user. A device that can perform these registration processes from a remote place has also been developed. Conventional remote data registration is a method of reading or writing data in the memory of a communication device by communication using a line.
A method of rewriting the telephone number of the transfer destination of the answering machine by 41911 and a method of registering the sender print data of the facsimile apparatus by JP-B-61-56662 have been proposed.

Some of these registration processes are performed from a host computer or the like connected to the communication device via the communication device and the line.

[0004]

However, when the data registration processing is performed by communication via the public line,
I could not confirm whether the registration was successful, and
There was the inconvenience that the record would not remain even if it was rewritten from a remote place by communication.

Further, in order to perform data registration from a remote location using the host computer, it is necessary to know in advance the function of the device of the other party to which the data is registered, and the host computer indicates that the communication has ended. I needed to know from.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional example, and it is possible to leave a history of data registration through communication, and to know from the host computer the function and communication state of the communication partner device. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device capable of performing the above.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the communication device of the present invention has the following configuration.

[0008] A communication device for performing remote data registration of a facsimile via a communication network, the transmitting means transmitting remote registration data to the communication network, the receiving means receiving response data from the communication network, the transmission data and The recording means records the received data as history data, and the output means outputs the history data recorded by the recording means.

Alternatively, the communication device is interposed between the host device and the communication network and communicates with the facsimile via the communication network, and sets the data to be remotely registered and the registration data of the facsimile via the communication network. The communication device includes a communication unit and a unit that sends communication status information indicating whether or not communication is being performed by the communication unit to the host device.

Alternatively, the communication device is interposed between the host device and the communication network and communicates with the facsimile via the communication network, and means for communicating with the facsimile via the communication network and reading out functional information regarding the function thereof. And output means for outputting the function information to the host device.

[0011]

With the above configuration, the remote data registration data transmitted to the facsimile machine and the response data thereof are recorded as history data and output. It also outputs the communication status to the connected host device. It also reads the function information of the facsimile machine and outputs it to the host device.

[0012]

[Example 1] As a preferred example of the present invention,
A system in which a facsimile machine is connected to a host computer as a communication adapter and is connected to a public line will be described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a remote registration system.

A personal computer (P
C) 1 sends registration data as a command to the facsimile device 2 which is a communication adapter. The facsimile device 2 includes an RS232C, and operates as a communication adapter that connects the PC 1 and a public line. This communication adapter is R
It is connected to a PC with an S232C cable.

The terminal facsimile device 3 is a facsimile device to which data is to be registered, and is connected to the communication adapter via a public line. Further, the facsimile device 3 has a DRAM for storing a large-sized data file such as image data, and also has an area used as a work area or a transmission / reception buffer. <Explanation of Data Registration Process> At the time of data registration, the user first inputs the data to be registered in the terminal facsimile 3 by the host program on the PC according to the menu shown in FIG. The input data of the PC 1 is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus 2 via the RS232C together with the command of the registration command.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the facsimile apparatus 2 as a communication adapter when receiving the registration command. The data registration command is also called a variation of the file write command, and when the command is received, a file is created from the input data according to the procedure of the file write command processing in step S201.

In step S201, the communication adapter (facsimile) 2 operates as shown in FIG. 7 in response to the registration data transmission from the PC 1. This process is the same as the process when the communication adapter 2 receives a file write command from the PC 1.

(Generation of Registration Data File) First, a management record of a file to be created is stored on the image management table, and a file area is acquired from the DRAM. The management record corresponds to an image file, a registration data file, etc. as shown in FIG. If the area can be acquired on the DRAM, ACK is returned to the PC1 if not, and NACK is returned to the PC1 (steps S701 to S704). When the management record of the registration data file is created, the file number of the file is taken.

Next, a PC obtained via RS232C
The data from 1 is sequentially stored in the dedicated buffer. At this time, the data is the ASCII code and the control code, the beginning of the data is “DT =”, and the end of the data is Q =
Must be eop. Therefore, when the data is received (step S705), it is checked that the beginning is "DT =" (step S706), and if the data is OK, the data is continuously received (step S707). The data thus received is stored in a buffer and analyzed asynchronously. The data is transferred from the buffer to the image area on the DRAM in units of one line (indicating the end of one line when crlf is received). By repeating the process for one line, the data file is closed when the data transfer is completed. That is, if "crlf" is received (step S708), it is determined that one line is completed, and one line of data is written in the file secured in the DRAM (step S709).

In this embodiment, the transmission buffer indicates the RMD transmission file shown in FIG. This file is RMD
It is the same as the registration data file and is an area for storing data from the PC and an area for registration data to be sent to the terminal facsimile 3. The receive buffer is R in FIG.
It is an MD reception file. This file is the same as the RMD log file, and is an area for storing the reception signal from the terminal facsimile and the transmission signal for the communication adapter and an area for recording the log.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the registration data file is generated in the same memory as the image file generated during the image communication operation of the facsimile. Therefore, registration data and image data can be treated equally.
It is also possible to write an image in the image area of the terminal facsimile 3 in the same manner as the registration data.

While processing the data in this way, the Q added to the end of the data is tested. If "EOP", the procedure is terminated and the file is closed (step S711).
If it is "EOM" or "MPS", the status command following the data is received from the PC 1 (step S7).
12). In response to this command, the file number assigned when the management record was created is sent to PC1 via RS232C.
As status information (step S71)
3).

FIG. 5 shows the command and its response according to the procedure of FIG. 5A and 5B are continuous, FIG. 5C shows the format of the file write command 51, and FIG. 5D shows the contents of the status command 52.

(Generation of Log File) When the registration data file generation in step S201 is completed as described above, the process proceeds to step S202, and the log file is DR
It is generated in the image area on AM. The procedure for generating this log file is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

In opening the log file, first, the file number of the latest image file (the image file is a name including the registration data file and the log file) is checked (step S1201, step S1202),
File numbers are assigned accordingly (step S1)
203). Next, like the registration data file, a management record of the log file is created in the image management table. Therefore, it is tested whether the management record area can be acquired in the image management table and the file area can be acquired in the DRAM (step S1204), and if possible, a management record is created (step S1206), and the management file area is stored in the image file area. You can open the log file (step S1)
207). The management record is managed by the file number of the member (one-to-one correspondence with the file). Further, the file number becomes a value obtained by incrementing the file number created immediately before by 1 when a new image management record is taken on the image management table. Therefore, if the file number of the registration data file is 100, the file number of the log file will be 101 (FIG. 11).

(Line Connection and Initial Setting) When the registration data file and the log file are opened as described above, the communication adapter 2 calls the terminal facsimile machine 3 of the public line network in step S203. When the line is connected, in step S204, the registration data is converted into a transmission signal in the 300 bps HDLC frame format shown in FIG. 13 and transmitted based on the remote registration communication procedure.
The remote registration communication procedure is the T30. The initial identification phase is the introduction of the remote registration procedure. That is, in step S204, the message exchange of FIG. 14 is performed. By this phase, it is set that the speed of the communication to be subsequently performed is performed by a high speed procedure such as 9600 bps or 4800 bps. First, the terminal facsimile machine 3 having received the registration data declares the remote registration function in the NSF (non-standard function declaration). Receiving this, the communication adapter 2 issues a model request command, which is a model name read command, to the terminal facsimile 3, and waits for a model declaration response. The model request command is executed in NSS (non-standard function setting), and when the model declaration response NSC (non-standard function command) is received, MCF (message confirmation) indicating the model declaration end
To send. When the model declaration phase ends, the remote registration procedure shifts to the data registration phase shown in FIG.

(Writing to Registration Data File and Log File) In the data registration phase, the communication adapter 2
Receives the NSF which is the data transfer request command from the terminal facsimile 3, and receives the registration command and the NS which is the registration data.
Send S. After transmitting the NSS, the communication adapter 2 waits for a registration response from the terminal facsimile 3. NSS is the data converted from the registration data into the HDLC frame format.
The FIF (information field) of S is the content of the registration data.

There are two responses to the NSS from the terminal facsimile 3, that is, an affirmative response and a negative response.
F and RTN (no retraining). When the communication adapter 2 receives the MCF, if the next command is present, the next command is NSS, and if there is no next command, it is DCN.
(Disconnect command) is transmitted. When the RTN is received, DCN is transmitted and the process is terminated, or the next command is transmitted.

The processing for executing the above procedure is performed in step S205 and subsequent steps. The command is transmitted in step S205, and steps S206 and S2 are performed.
07, the transmission contents and the reception contents are stored in the reception buffer, that is, the log file. At that time, FIG.
・ As shown in 18, the transmission content includes "T" as the transmission identifier.
"X" is added to the received content as a reception identifier.
Add and write.

The processing performed by steps S206 and S207 is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

First, after the log file is opened (step S1901), it is tested whether the signal is transmitted or received (step S1902), and the data is written to the log file according to the result. If it is transmission, the contents of the registration data file are read (step S19).
05), the identifier “TX” is added (step S190).
6). If it is reception, that is, when the signal is received from the terminal facsimile 3, the reception signal is read (step S190
7), the identifier "RX" is added (step S190).
8). After that, the data is written to the log file (step S1909). When writing the transmission contents to the log file, the data is copied from the registered data file, which is the transmission buffer, to the log file, which is the reception buffer, and both buffers are accessed. When the transmission is completed, that is, the remote data registration is completed, the log file is closed (step S1903).

The "TX" and "RX" identifiers are effective when the log confirmation file is sent from the PC1 to the PC1 and the PC1 confirms whether the log file has been normally registered.

After the transmission and reception contents are recorded in the log in this way, it is tested in step S208 whether the MCF is received according to the procedure described above. If not, DCN is sent to the facsimile 3 and the transmission of registration data is completed. If received, step S20
In step 9, it is tested whether there is a command to be continuously transmitted.
If not, DCN is sent in step S210 and the process ends.

(Reading Log File) The log file created by the above procedure can be read by the PC 1.

The communication adapter 2 sends the contents of the log file to the result request command (file read command) from the PC 1 via the RS232C interface. The result request command is a command that requests transmission of a log file. In that command, it is necessary to specify the file number from PC1. When creating the previous registration data file, PC1
The file number of the registration data file is read (step S713 in FIG. 7). As described above, since the file number of the log file is a value obtained by incrementing the file number of the data file by 1, it is possible to obtain the log file number by adding 1 to the number of the read registered data file.

The procedure for reading this file is shown in FIG. 6A shows the exchange of messages, and FIG. 6B shows the format of the file read command 61.

FIG. 3 shows a processing procedure by the communication adapter 2 which receives the image confirmation command from the PC 1. This is to execute the procedure of the file read command processing of FIG. 8 for a log file.

In FIG. 8, first, it is tested whether or not the command is given a file number (step S80).
1). If there is, a check is made to see if a file of that number exists (step S802), and if it exists, an ACK response is sent to PC1 (step S804). It then sends the page status and tests the response (step S
805 and S806). If it is an ACK response, the contents of the file are transmitted in a predetermined format (step S80).
8 to S812).

By transmitting the log file as the registration result to the PC as described above, the PC can also know that the remote data registration has been completed normally.

[0040]

[Second Embodiment] [Second Embodiment] As a second embodiment, a process when the registration data registered in the terminal facsimile apparatus 3 is read will be described. FIG. 20 shows a processing procedure of the communication adapter 2 which receives a registration data read command from the PC. This procedure, except for differences in commands and responses, and slight differences in processing for them,
Almost the same as the registration data setting process described in the first embodiment. Therefore, the processing common to the first embodiment will be described only briefly.

The PC 1 inputs the registration data item to be read from the terminal facsimile 3 by the host program on the PC 1 (FIG. 4) and transmits the data to the communication adapter 2 via the RS232C (FIGS. 5 and 7).

On the communication adapter side, in response to the data transfer from the PC 1, the data is sequentially stored in the dedicated buffer, and the data is written in the registered data file line by line. Upon completion of data transfer, the registered data file is closed.

Next, a log file is created. If the registration data file number is 100, the log file number of that file is 101.

The communication adapter 2 makes a call to the terminal facsimile 3 of the public line network, and when the line is connected, the registration data is converted into a transmission signal form in the HDLC frame format of 300 bps and transmitted based on the remote registration communication procedure ( Figure 1
3). The remote registration communication procedure is T30. The initial identification phase is the introduction part of the remote registration procedure (FIG. 14). For the terminal facsimile that received the call, declare that the remote registration function is available by NSF.
(Non-standard function declaration). The communication adapter which received this sends a model request command, which is a command to read the model name, to the terminal facsimile machine, and waits for a model declaration response. The model request command is performed in NSS (non-standard function setting), and when NSC (non-standard function command) of model declaration response is received, MCF indicating the model declaration end is transmitted. When the model declaration phase ends, the remote registration procedure shifts to the data read phase.

The above is steps S2001 to S2 in FIG.
004. The data read phase is shown in FIG.
It is the procedure shown in.

In the data read phase in FIG. 16, the communication adapter 2 receives the NSF which is the data transfer request command from the terminal facsimile 3 and transmits the read command NSS to the facsimile 3. After transmitting the NSS, it waits for a registration response from the terminal facsimile machine 3. NSS
Is the read data converted to the HDLC frame format. The response from the terminal facsimile 3 is read data and is NSC. The communication adapter 2 is this N
It responds to the SC, but there are two, an affirmative response and a negative response, MCF (message confirmation) and RTN (retraining negative), respectively. After transmitting the response, the terminal waits for the NSF which is the data transfer request of the terminal facsimile. After receiving the NSF, if there is a read data item, NSS is transmitted, and if not, DCN is transmitted and the communication ends.

The processing for executing the above procedure is performed in step S2005 and subsequent steps. At step S2005, a read command is transmitted and at the same time, step S2006.
Then, in step S2007, the transmission content and the reception content are stored in the reception buffer, that is, the log file.
At that time, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, “TX” is added to the transmission content as a transmission identifier, and “RX” is added to the reception content as a reception identifier to be written. This step S20
The process performed by S6 and S207 is shown in the flowchart of FIG.

The log file thus created is stored in the PC.
Data can be read out to the PC 1 by a data read confirmation command from 1. FIG. 21 shows the processing by the communication adapter 2 for the command, and the substance is the same as when the log file is designated in the file read command shown in FIG. 8 as in the first embodiment.

Even when the registration data is read out in this way, the history can be read out to the PC as a log file and the result can be known on the PC.

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 23 shows a processing procedure when a registration command is sent from the PC 1 to the communication adapter 2 in the system of FIG. The difference from the first embodiment is that a training procedure is performed and a retransmission request process is performed before shifting to the registration phase. Therefore, detailed description of the points common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

The PC 1 inputs the data to be registered in the terminal facsimile 3 by the host program on the PC 1 (FIG. 4) and transmits the data to the communication adapter 2 via the RS232C (FIGS. 5 and 7).

On the communication adapter side 2, for the data transfer from the PC 1, the data is sequentially stored in the dedicated buffer, and 1
Write to the data file for each line. Upon completion of data transfer, the data file is closed. The data file is generated in the same image area on the DRAM as the image file generated during image transfer by general facsimile (FIG. 11).

Image files are managed by file numbers,
A file number is also added to the registration data file. In the present embodiment, the transmission buffer refers to the RMD transmission buffer of FIG. 10, and is a storage area for the read data of the contents of the data file generated here, that is, the registration data to be sent to the terminal facsimile. By having this buffer, transmission data formation at the time of re-transmission and data writing to the log file become efficient.

The communication adapter makes a call to the terminal facsimile of the public line network. The model declaration phase of remote registration was defined as the entrance to the remote registration procedure, and 9600
Communication is performed by high-speed procedures such as bps and 4800 bps. The procedure of the model declaration phase is as shown in FIG.

The received terminal facsimile 3 declares the remote registration function in NSF (non-standard function declaration). The communication adapter 2 which received this is the terminal facsimile 3
Then, a model request command, which is a model name read command, is executed, and a model declaration response is waited for. The model request command is performed in NSS (non-standard function declaration), and when NSC (non-standard function command) of model declaration response is received, MCF indicating the end of model declaration is transmitted. When the model declaration phase ends, training is performed and CFR (reception preparation confirmation) is sent out, and then the registration command and data are transmitted in the HDLC format in the same manner as image data is transmitted. In this case, the data capacity that can be transmitted at one time is 64 Kbytes. When the communication adapter 2 sends the registration command, it writes it in the log file. This procedure is similar to that of the first embodiment.

The above is the processing procedure in steps S2201 to S2206.

Terminal facsimile 3 which received the registration data
Performs a transmission error check on the received data, and if there is a transmission error as a result, sends a PPR (retransmission request signal) to the communication adapter 2. The communication adapter 2 waits for a response from the terminal facsimile 3 and tests it (step S2208). Upon receiving the PPR, the communication adapter 2 retransmits the frame indicated in the PPR (step S2209).

On the other hand, the terminal facsimile machine 3 shifts to the registration operation if it is normal as a result of the error check of the received data, transmits the RNR until the registration operation is completed, and when it is completed, M
Send CF. Therefore, the communication adapter 2 waits until it receives MCF while transmitting RR for the received RNR (step S2210).

When the response from the terminal facsimile machine 3 is received, it is written in the log file (step S221).
1). This procedure is similar to that of the first embodiment. Next, it is tested whether the received response is MCF (step S221).
2) If the MCF is received, it is checked whether there is the next data (step S2213), and if there is, the data is transmitted, and if there is no next data, DCN is transmitted and the communication ends (step S2214).

Steps S2206 to S221
The procedure up to 4 is according to the procedure shown in FIG. According to the procedure of FIG. 22, the commands recorded as a log are limited to the commands correctly received, the commands retransmitted due to a transmission error are not recorded, and the log file size needs to be unnecessarily large. Disappear.

The log file created as described above can be read from the PC 1. That is, similarly to the first embodiment, the communication adapter 2 sends the contents of the log file in response to the result request command (file read) from the PC 1 via the RS232C interface (FIGS. 3, 6 and 6). 8). On the PC1 side,
From this response, it can be known that the remote data registration has been completed normally.

[Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 27 shows a processing procedure by the communication adapter of the fourth embodiment. The present embodiment replaces the registration command of the third embodiment with a read command, and has many points in common with the first, second, and third embodiments, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The PC 1 inputs the read data items to the terminal facsimile 3 by the user or the like by the host program on the PC (FIG. 4), and those data are RS232C.
The data is transmitted to the communication adapter 2 via (FIGS. 5 and 7).

In the communication adapter 2, in response to the data transfer from the PC 1, the data is sequentially stored in the dedicated buffer, and the data is written in the registered data file line by line. Upon completion of data transfer, the registered data file is closed. The registration data file is generated in the same image area as the image file generated during general facsimile operation (see FIG. 1).
1).

Image files are managed by file numbers,
A file number is also added to the registration data file. In the present embodiment, the transmission buffer refers to the RMD transmission buffer of FIG. 10, and is a storage area for the read data of the contents of the data file generated here, that is, the registration data to be sent to the terminal facsimile. By having this buffer, transmission data formation at the time of re-transmission and data writing to the log file become efficient. The communication adapter 2 makes a call to the terminal facsimile 3 of the public line network. The model declaration phase of remote registration is defined as the entrance to the remote registration procedure, and under that condition, communication is performed by a high-speed procedure such as 9600 bps, 4800 bps (FIG. 14).

The received terminal facsimile 3 declares the remote registration function in NSF (non-standard function declaration). The communication adapter 2 which received this is the terminal facsimile 3
Then, a model request command, which is a model name read command, is executed, and a model declaration response is waited for. The model request command is performed in NSS (non-standard function declaration), and when NSC (non-standard function command) of model declaration response is received, MCF indicating the end of model declaration is transmitted. When the model declaration phase is completed, training is performed and CFR (reception preparation confirmation) is sent out. Then, the read data item is sent in the HDLC format as in the case of sending image data. In this case, the data capacity that can be transmitted at one time is 64 Kbytes.

When the transmission error check results in a transmission error, PPR (retransmission request signal) is transmitted from the terminal facsimile machine 3 which has received the read data.
The communication adapter 2 that has received the PPR retransmits the frame indicated by the PPR. If the result of the error check of the terminal facsimile machine 3 is normal, the terminal facsimile machine 3 sends the contents of the registration data in the HDLC format. The communication adapter 2 receives the data and performs a reception buffer writing process of the reception data. If there is an item with no read data response, MCF is transmitted, and if all read data items are satisfied, DCN is transmitted and the communication ends.

The communication adapter 2 stores the transmission contents and the reception signal in the reception buffer while communicating with the terminal facsimile. At this time, the transmission content is "TX" as the transmission identifier.
Is added to the reception signal as a reception identifier and written. When the transmission is completed, that is, the remote data registration is completed, the log file is closed (FIG. 19).

The above procedure is based on step S2701 in FIG.
To S2713, which is a process according to the procedure of FIG.

The communication adapter 2 sends the contents of the log file in response to the result request command (file read) from the PC 1 via the RS232C interface. This procedure is the same as in the second embodiment. The PC 1 can know from this response that the remote data registration has been normally completed.

[Fifth Embodiment] As a fifth embodiment, a communication system in which the communication state of the communication adapter 2 can be known from the PC 1 in the system of FIG. 1 will be described.

The remote registration system of this embodiment has the configuration of FIG. 1 as in the first to fourth embodiments. The PC 1 sends the registration data as a command to the facsimile device 2 that operates as a communication adapter. This communication adapter 2 is a PC 1
And RS232C cable.

The terminal facsimile machine 3 to which data is to be registered is connected to the communication adapter 2 via a public line. <Registration command processing procedure by communication adapter> Fig. 43
3 is an operation procedure of the communication adapter 2 in response to a remote data registration command from the PC 1 in the system of FIG. The registration of data with respect to the facsimile apparatus 3 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the detailed description of the processing similar to that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

The registration data to be registered in the terminal facsimile 3 is inputted by the host program (FIG. 4) on the PC 1, and the PC 1 communicates with the communication adapter 2 via the RS232C.
The data input to is transmitted as a registration command (procedure in FIG. 5). Following this, the processing of FIG. 43 is started.

First, when the communication adapter 2 receives the registration command from the PC 1, in step S4301,
The management record of the file to be created is stored in the image management table, the file number is assigned, the memory is acquired from the DRAM, and the registration data file is generated. This procedure is the same as the step S201 in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment.

The file number is an image file management number, and is assigned to the file one-to-one when the file is created.
The registration data file is generated in the same image area as the image file generated during image transmission (FIG. 11).

The communication adapter 2 sequentially stores the data from the PC 1 obtained via the RS232C in the dedicated buffer, and closes the registration data file upon completion of the data transfer.

Next, in step S4302, the communication adapter 2 sets the communication status to "*" at the start of transmission.
"***" is written. The communication status is the data stored in the area allocated in the internal memory of the device, such as the DRAM, and is rewritten according to the state of the communication at the end of the communication. If communication is in progress, the value written before the start of communication is "*****".

Next, in step S4303, the communication adapter 2 calls the terminal facsimile machine 3 of the public line network. When the line is connected, in step S4304, the registration data is converted into a transmission signal and transmitted based on the remote registration communication procedure. This procedure is as shown in FIG.

There are two responses from the terminal facsimile 3 to this, a positive response and a negative response.
CF (message confirmation) and RTN (no retraining). In the communication adapter 2, step S4305
Then, the response from the facsimile 3 is received.

When the communication adapter 2 receives the response, it checks it in step S4306. When MCF is received, the flow advances to step S4307 to further check the presence / absence of the next command. If there is a next command, enter the NSS of the next command,
If there is no next command, DCN is performed in step S4308.
(Disconnect command) is transmitted. When the RTN is received, the DCN is transmitted and the process is terminated, or the next command is transmitted.

Above, from step S4304 to step S
The procedure up to 4308 is according to FIG.

Finally, in step S4309, the communication adapter 2 sets the communication status to "000" at the end of this transmission (transmission of the registration data file generated by the file write command of the PC 1 to the terminal facsimile 3).
It is rewritten as 0 ". <Reading Status by PC> On the other hand, the PC sends the status command to the communication adapter 2 after sending the file write command. The read protocol is as shown in FIG. The command is as described in Embodiment 1. The status command has a format for designating the target file number, and here the file number is the number of the registered data file. It continues sending at a certain interval until indicates the end.

The communication adapter 2 can respond to a command from the PC 1 via the RS232C even while communicating with the terminal facsimile machine 3. In response to the status command from the PC 1, the communication adapter 2 operates according to the protocol of FIG. 28 and the flow of FIG.

In FIG. 31, the communication adapter 2 sends out an ACK if a response to the command is possible (step S3402). In case of other abnormal conditions, NAK
Is transmitted (step S3403).

After sending the ACK, as shown in FIGS. 28 (a) and 28 (c), the communication status is converted into a response format and a command response is given (steps S3403 to S3405). The format of the response consists of the file number of the RMD transmission registration data file, the command executed or executed by the file, and the communication status (FIG. 2).
9). The communication status is a value read from the memory in which it is stored, and the PC receiving this response can know whether or not communication is being executed by looking at the communication status section. That is, if the value is “***”, communication is in progress, and if the value is “0000”, it is ended.

With the above procedure, the communication state between the communication adapter and the terminal facsimile can be known from the PC to which the communication adapter is connected.

[Sixth Embodiment] A sixth embodiment is also realized in the system shown in FIG.

FIG. 32 shows a registration command processing procedure by the communication adapter 2 of this embodiment. Terminal facsimile 3
Registration data to be registered in is input using the host program (FIG. 4) on the PC 1 and is transmitted to the communication adapter 2 via the RS232C.

In FIG. 32, first, the communication adapter 2
When receiving the registration command from the PC, the device takes a management record of a file to be created in the image management table, assigns a file number, acquires memory from the DRAM, and creates a data file.

The file number is an image management number, and is assigned to the file one-to-one when the file is created. The data file is generated in the same image area as the image file generated when the general file is operated (FIG. 11).

Data from the PC obtained via the RS232C is sequentially stored in the dedicated buffer, and the data file is closed when the data transfer is completed (step S350).
1). Next, the communication adapter 2 sets the communication status to "***" at the start of transmission (step S350).
2). The communication status is rewritten only at the end of communication, so it is “***” if communication is in progress.

Next, the communication adapter 2 makes a call to the terminal facsimile 3 of the public line network, and when the line is connected, the registration data is converted into the form of a transmission signal and transmitted based on the remote registration communication procedure (step S3504). .

There are two responses from the terminal facsimile 3, an affirmative response and a negative response, which are MCF (message confirmation) and RTN (retraining negative), respectively.

When the communication adapter 2 receives the MCF, it sends NSS of the next command if there is a next command and DCN (disconnect command) if there is no next command. When the RTN is received, the DCN is transmitted to end the process or the next command is transmitted (step S35).
04-S3508).

The procedure described above is the same as that of the fifth embodiment. However, in the present embodiment, when a communication error occurs during command transmission to the facsimile apparatus 3, the communication adapter 2 gives an error number as the communication status. Write (step S3509). This error number is a value determined according to the phenomenon and cause of the error.

On the other hand, the PC 1 side issues a status command after transmitting the file write command. The status command has a format of designating a file number, and the file number is the file number of the registration data file (FIG. 28). This command continues to be sent at a certain interval until the communication status shows that it has ended.

The communication adapter 2 can respond to a command from the PC 1 via the RS232C even while communicating with the terminal facsimile 3, and the communication adapter responds to the status command from the PC 1 based on the protocol of FIG.
It operates like the flow of FIG. This procedure is described in Example 5.
Is the same as.

As described above, the communication status of the communication adapter 2 or the recently completed communication status can be known from the PC 1.

[Embodiment 7] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a remote registration system according to a seventh embodiment. The PC 1 sends a command to the facsimile device which is the communication adapter 2. The communication adapter 2 is connected to the PC 1 with an RS232C cable. The terminal facsimile machine 3 to which data is to be registered is connected to the communication adapter 2 via a public line.

This embodiment relates to a system in which the function of the terminal facsimile machine 3 can be obtained from the PC 1 via the communication adapter 2.

The operator inputs the connection number which is the telephone number of the terminal facsimile by the host program on the PC 1. At this time, data is input according to the menu screen illustrated in FIG. When the "execute" item is selected from the menu, the PC 1 sends an NSF / DIS read command to the communication adapter 2 via the RS232C. This procedure is shown in FIG. .

The NSF / DIS read command is shown in FIG.
In the special form of the file write command shown in, the file write data code is "NSF / DIS", and the data to be written in the file is only Q (EOP). <Processing procedure of NSF / DIS read command> FIG.
Is a processing procedure by the communication adapter 2 that receives the NSF / DIS read command.

In FIG. 33, the communication adapter 2 is a PC.
When the NSF / DIS read command from 1 is received,
First, in step S3301, the management record of the file to be created is stored in the image management table, and the memory is acquired from the DRAM. The image management record of the data file is created and the file number is obtained (FIG. 11). The file number is the status command from PC1
It is transmitted as status information to the PC 1 via the H.232C. This procedure is as shown in FIG. This file will be referred to as NSF / DIS hereinafter.

Next, in step S3302, the communication adapter 2 determines the destination terminal facsimile 3 of the public line network.
Call.

Next, in step S3303, NS
By specifying the parameter of the F / DIS command as “CD = 11”, the attribute of this file is changed to N of RMD.
SF / DIS. Also, the page forming the current file is discarded and a new page is provided to initialize the file, and it is checked in step S3304 whether the initialization has been completed successfully.

On the other hand, the called terminal facsimile (communication partner facsimile machine) has an NSF indicating the capability of the called side.
(Non-standard function declaration), CSI (callee identification), DIS
(Digital identification signal) is transmitted.

The communication adapter which received this, step S
In 3305, test whether the received content is DIS,
If it is DIS, the NSF / DIS that generated the content first
The file is written in step S3306. As an example,
FIG. 42 shows a DIS HDLC frame. The content written to the file is the FIF in the frame. This operation is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 37, first, the NSF / DIS file is opened (step S3701). next,
It is determined whether the received signal is DIS (step S3702), and if it is DIS, the frame length excluding the address, control, FCF, and FCS fields of the received frame is calculated (step S3702). Step S370
4). If DIS cannot be received, DCN
To end the communication (step S3703).

Next, the RX identifier indicating the received data is written in the NSF / DIS file (step S370).
5). Next, the FIF data is converted from BCD to ASCII (step S3710). This is NSF / DI
This is for displaying when the S file is transmitted to the PC 1. The converted contents are written to the NSF / DIS file (step S3711), dis_data_len is decremented (step S3712), and the process is repeated until all the FIF data is written to the file. Then, the NSF / DIS file is closed (step S3709).

Through the above procedure, the communication adapter 2 stores the function read from the terminal facsimile 3 as a file. <Read NSF / DIS file from PC> PC
1 requests the communication adapter 2 to transmit an NSF / DIS file via the RS232C interface. This request is made by designating the file number of the NSF / DIS file using the file read command described in the previous embodiment.

In response to the file read command from PC1, the communication adapter sends the contents of the NSF / DIS file. The result is the display on the right half of FIG. According to this result, in the case of the terminal facsimile, it is possible to set the registration item and the registration data condition or the read data item. Further, it becomes possible to grasp the facsimile function of the communication partner device.

[Embodiment 8] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a remote registration system of the present embodiment. The PC 1 sends a command to the facsimile device 2 which is a communication adapter. The communication adapter 2 is connected to the PC 1 with an RS232C cable.

The terminal facsimile machine 3 to which data is to be registered is connected to the communication adapter 2 via a public line.

In this embodiment, the NSF described in the seventh embodiment is used.
A procedure of recording the log of the remote registration data read command for cleaning as in the second embodiment will be described together with the processing of the / DIS read command.

FIG. 38 shows the operation procedure of the NSF / DIS read command and registered data read command communication adapter 2.

The operator inputs the connection number which is the telephone number of the terminal facsimile 3 by the host program (FIG. 34) on the PC 1. Then, by selecting the "execute" item, the PC 1 transmits an NSF / DIS read command to the communication adapter 2 via the RS232C (FIG. 3).
5). The NSF / DIS read command is a special form of the file write command (FIG. 5C), in which the file write data code is NSF / DIS, and the data to be written to the file is only Q (EOP).

Further, the operator uses the terminal facsimile 3
Input the registration data item to be read from the PC1 according to the menu by the host program on the PC1 (FIG. 40),
Data is transmitted to the communication adapter 2 via the RS232C. This procedure is as shown in FIG.

FIG. 38 shows a PC which receives these two inputs.
The process is performed by the communication adapter 2 from the time when the command sent from 1 is received.

In FIG. 38, the communication adapter 2 is a PC
When the NSF / DIS read command from 1 is received,
First, in step S3801, the NSF / DIS file is opened. That is, the management record of the file to be created is stored in the image management table, and the memory is acquired from the DRAM. Further, the image management record of the data file is created and the file number is obtained (FIG. 11). The file number is a status command from the PC and is transmitted as status information to the PC via RS232C (FIG. 5). This file will be referred to as NSF / DIS hereinafter. By specifying the read command parameter “CD = 11”, the attribute of the file is changed to NSF / DI of RMD.
S.

Further, in response to a remote data registration command from the PC 1, a registration data file is generated and data is written in step S3802. Upon completion of data transfer, the data file is closed. This is as described in the previous example.

Next, in step S3803, the communication adapter 2 calls the terminal facsimile 3 of the public line network.
Subsequently, in step S3804, the current NSF /
Initialization of the file is performed in which the page forming the DIS file is discarded and a new page is provided. Then, in step S3805, the result of the initialization is checked.

On the other hand, the called terminal facsimile 3 has NSF (non-standard function declaration) and CSI indicating the capability of the called side.
(Called terminal identification) and DIS (digital identification signal) are transmitted to the communication adapter 2.

Upon receiving the response from the terminal facsimile machine 3, the communication adapter 2 tests in step S3806 whether or not DIS has been received.
This procedure is as described in the seventh embodiment.

After that, in step S3808, the procedure of the model declaration phase shown in FIG. 39 is executed. The communication adapter 2 issues a model request command, which is a model name read command, and waits for a model declaration response. Model request command NSS
(Non-standard function declaration)
When SC (non-standard function command) is received, MCF indicating the end of model declaration is transmitted. When the model declaration phase ends, the remote registration procedure shifts to the data read phase.

The communication adapter 2 starts from step S3809.
In step S3811, the transmission content and the reception signal are stored in the NSF / DIS file while communicating with the terminal facsimile machine 3. At this time, the transmission content includes "T" as the transmission identifier.
"X" is added to the received signal by adding "RX" as a reception identifier (FIG. 41).
But the file is an NSF / DIS file rather than a log file.

In the data read phase, the communication adapter 2 receives the data transfer request command NSF from the terminal facsimile 3 and transmits the read command NSS. The NSS is obtained by converting the read data into the HDLC frame format, and after transmitting the NSS, waits for a registration response from the terminal facsimile 3. The response from the terminal facsimile 3 is read data and is NSC.

The communication adapter 2 responds to this NSC, but there are two responses, a positive response and a negative response.
CF (message confirmation) and RTN (no retraining). After the response is transmitted, the terminal facsimile machine 3 waits for NSF which is a data transfer request. After receiving the NSF, it is determined in step S3812 if there is any further read data item, and if there is, the process proceeds to step S3814 to transmit the MCF, and if not, the DCN is transmitted in step S3813 to end the communication.

By the above procedure, the function of the terminal facsimile and the log of remote registration data reading can be stored in the NSF / DIS file. <Reading NSF / DIS file> PC1 is RS
Request NSF / DIS file transmission via the 232C interface (FIG. 6). This is a file read command, the contents of which are the same as in the previous embodiment.

That is, in response to the command from PC1,
The communication adapter 2 sends the contents of the NSF / DIS file. As a result, it becomes possible to know the communication function of the terminal facsimile 3 and the contents read out of the remote registration data.

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

[0132]

With the above structure, the communication device according to the present invention can leave a history of data registration through communication, and the function and communication status of the device at the other end of communication can be connected. The effect is that it can be known from the host computer.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a system configuration in remote registration.

FIG. 2 is an operation flowchart of the communication adapter of the remote registration system in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an operation flowchart of the communication adapter of the remote registration system in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a registration data menu on the PC screen of the remote registration system.

FIG. 5: PC via RS232C of remote registration system
It is a figure of the communication adapter transfer command format of a data file.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of a PC transfer command format of a communication adapter data file via RS232C of the remote registration system.

FIG. 7 is a communication adapter operation flowchart at the time of writing a file via the RS232C of the remote registration system.

FIG. 8 is a communication adapter operation flowchart when a file is read via RS232C of the remote registration system.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an RMD transmission / reception buffer of the communication adapter in the first and second embodiments of the remote registration system.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of an RMD transmission / reception buffer of a communication adapter in Embodiments 3 and 4 of the remote registration system.

FIG. 11 is a diagram of an image management table and an image memory of the communication adapter.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of image management record generation in the communication adapter.

FIG. 13 is a diagram of an HDLC frame of commands and data used in remote registration / reading.

FIG. 14 is a diagram of a communication procedure mode in a model declaration phase of the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of a communication procedure mode in a remote registration phase of the embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram of a communication procedure mode of remote reading according to the embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram of an example of a log file according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a log file according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart of a log file generation operation in the communication adapter.

FIG. 20 is an operation flowchart of the communication adapter in the second embodiment of the remote registration system.

FIG. 21 is an operation flowchart of the communication adapter in the second embodiment of the remote registration system.

FIG. 22 is an operation flowchart of the communication adapter in the third embodiment of the remote registration system.

FIG. 23 is a diagram of a communication procedure mode in the model declaration phase of the embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a diagram of a communication procedure mode in the training phase of the example.

FIG. 25 is a diagram of a communication procedure mode in the remote registration phase of the embodiment.

FIG. 26 is a diagram of a communication procedure mode of a remote read phase of the embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a flowchart of the operation of the communication adapter in the embodiment of the RMD system.

FIG. 28 is a diagram of a status command format via the RS232C of the RMD system.

FIG. 29 is a diagram of an example status command response via an RS232C of the RMD system.

FIG. 30 is a diagram of an RMD communication procedure.

FIG. 31 is an operation flowchart of the communication adapter in the embodiment of the RMD system.

FIG. 32 is an operation flowchart of the communication adapter in the embodiment of the RMD system.

FIG. 33 is an operation flowchart of the communication adapter in the embodiment of the remote registration system.

FIG. 34: NSF / D on PC screen of remote registration system
It is a figure of IS read-out menu.

FIG. 35: N via RS232C of remote registration system
It is a figure of SF / DIS command.

FIG. 36 is a diagram of NSF / DIS read communication procedure.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of an NSF / DIS file writing procedure.

FIG. 38 is an operation flowchart of the communication adapter in the embodiment of the remote registration system.

FIG. 39 is a diagram of a communication procedure for remote reading according to the embodiment.

FIG. 40 is a diagram of a read data menu on the PC screen of the remote registration system.

FIG. 41 is a diagram showing write signal contents to an NSF / DIS file according to the embodiment.

FIG. 42 is a diagram of an HDL frame of a received signal.

FIG. 43 is an operation flowchart of the communication adapter in the embodiment of the remote registration system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 personal computer (PC), 2 communication adapter (facsimile device), and 3 terminal facsimile device.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display location H04N 1/00 107 A 7046-5C 1/32 Z 2109-5C (72) Inventor Akira Matsui Tokyo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Sai Sai, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A communication device for performing remote data registration of a facsimile via a communication network, comprising: transmitting means for transmitting data to be remotely registered to the communication network; receiving means for receiving response data from the communication network; A communication device comprising: a recording unit that records data and received data as history data; and an output unit that outputs the history data recorded by the recording unit. 2. The output device outputs the history data to an input / output device outside the communication device.
The communication device described. 3. The communication device according to claim 2, further comprising input means for inputting data, wherein the input means inputs data to be transmitted by the transmitting means from the input / output device. 4. The recording means, in the history data,
2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein a transmission identifier is added to the transmission data and a reception identifier is added to the reception data. 5. Further comprising means for transmitting image data,
The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the remote registration data is managed as a file having the same format as the image data. 6. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the G3 facsimile apparatus uses a procedure signal of 300 bps. 7. A G3 facsimile machine at 9600 bps
Alternatively, the communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that an image signal of 4800 bps is used. 8. The remote registration data and history data are treated as files, and the remote registration data file and the corresponding history data file are managed by giving consecutive file numbers. Communication device. 9. A communication device, which is interposed between a host device and a communication network and communicates with a facsimile via the communication network, wherein data to be remotely registered and facsimile registration data to be set via the communication network. A communication device comprising: a communication unit; and a unit for transmitting communication status information indicating whether or not communication is being performed by the communication unit to a host device. 10. The communication status information is obtained immediately before,
10. The communication device according to claim 9, which is communication state information by the communication means currently being performed. 11. The communication device according to claim 9, further comprising input means for inputting an instruction from a host device, and outputting the communication state information in response to an instruction from the host. 12. Intervening between the host device and the communication network,
A communication device for communicating with a facsimile machine via a communication network, comprising: means for communicating with a facsimile machine via the communication network to read out functional information regarding its function; and output means for outputting the functional information to a host device. A communication device characterized by the above. 13. The communication device according to claim 11, further comprising input means for inputting an instruction from a host device, and outputting the communication status information in response to an instruction from the host.