JPH06253073A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a facsimile equipment capable of reporting a voice message to a called party equipment. CONSTITUTION:Voice signals from a voice input part 7 are converted into digital voice signals by an A/D converter 6, data-compressed by a data compression part 5 further and stored in a memory 3. Then, at the time of transmission, compressed voice data read from the memory 3 are handled as picture data and signal-transmitted. In the meantime, on a reception side, printing is performed by a recording part 2 by normal facsimile reception. For the reproduction of the voice data, white/black binary data obtained by reading the contents of reception recording paper by a read part 1 are expanded by a data expansion part 8, digital data corresponding to the voice data are converted to analog signals by a D/A converter 9 further and voice is outputted by a voice output part 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A facsimile machine is a device which enables a remote party to send and receive visual information such as documents and drawings using a communication line such as a telephone line.

In such a facsimile machine, explanations of directions that are difficult to reach by telephone can be easily understood by the other party by using a map which is visual information. At this time, it is more preferable to use comment text together with the map. In some cases, it may be easy for the other party to understand. However, the above comments can be difficult or cumbersome to document,
Sometimes it is more convenient to tell the other person in words.

As a conventional facsimile device, for example, a device is known in which a telephone is added to enable communication after the FAX communication is completed and the line connection state is maintained.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional facsimile apparatus, if the other party is absent or cannot answer the call for some reason, the call after the facsimile communication cannot be made and the other party cannot receive the call. I cannot convey a comment.

In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus capable of transmitting a voice message even when the other party is absent.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention has a voice input means for converting an input voice into an analog voice signal, and an A-type voice signal for the analog voice signal. And a means for performing digital-to-D conversion to generate digital audio data, a memory for storing the digital audio data, and means for handling the digital audio data read from the memory as image data and transmitting the signal. There is.

Further, the facsimile apparatus of the present invention includes a recording section for printing on recording paper based on the received image data, an original reading section for reading the content of the original to generate black and white binary data, and the original reading. The monochrome binary data corresponding to the digital audio data of the receiving recording paper read by the printer
A / A conversion is performed to convert the analog audio signal into a voice, and a means for converting the analog audio signal into a voice is provided.

Further, the facsimile apparatus of the present invention is a memory for storing the received image data and an analog voice signal by D / A converting the black and white binary data corresponding to the digital voice data read from the memory. And a means for converting the analog voice signal into voice.

[0010]

According to the above construction, the voice comment input on the transmitting side is A / D converted and stored in the memory, and at the time of transmission, the digital voice data read from the memory is signal-transmitted as image data. Therefore, the receiver side can receive the voice comment in the normal facsimile reception state. That is, the voice comment is printed as image data on recording paper or stored in the memory. Therefore, it is not necessary for the receiver to wait for a person to receive the voice message, and the voice comment can be transmitted even when the other party is absent or when the telephone call cannot be answered due to some reason.

When listening to a voice comment, if the recording paper is received, the received recording paper can be read by the document reading unit, and the binary black-and-white data obtained by the reading can be D / A converted or the like and output as voice. it can. That is, in this case, the received image information and the voice data are collectively stored on the recording paper, and the reproduction thereof can be easily performed using the document reading unit.

On the other hand, in the case of memory reception, it is possible to read out monochrome binary data, which is voice data recorded as image data in the memory, perform D / A conversion, and output the voice.

[0013]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a reading unit that reads the contents of a document with a line sensor, 2 is a recording unit that records received image data by thermal recording or electrophotography, 3 is a memory composed of SRAM or DRAM, 4 is a CPU or control program Is a control unit composed of a ROM in which is stored, a data compression unit,
6 is an A / D converter, 7 is a voice input unit including a microphone, 8 is a data decompression unit, 9 is a D / A converter, 10 is a voice output unit including a speaker, and 11 is an encoding / decoding unit. , 12 is a modem, 13 is a network controller, and 14 is a telephone line.

Hereinafter, the structure of this facsimile apparatus will be described separately for the transmission of comment voice and the reproduction of comment voice.

[Transmission of comment voice] The input voice is converted into an analog voice signal by the voice input unit 7,
Further, this analog voice signal is converted into a digital voice signal by the A / D converter 6. The digital voice signal may be used as it is, but since the data amount is large and the voice comment time is shortened as a result, for example, an existing data compression technique such as the ADM method (adaptive digital modulation) is used, The compression unit 5 reduces the signal amount. Then, this compressed audio data is stored in the memory 3.

During facsimile transmission, the control unit 4 drives the reading unit 1 to generate image data and sends it to the encoding / decoding unit 11. The encoding / decoding unit 11
International standard CCITT T. The image data is encoded according to 4. The coded image data is modulated by the modem 12 and sent to the telephone line 14 via the network control unit 13.

The control unit 4 also reads the compressed audio data from the memory 3 and encodes and decodes the compressed audio data.
Send to. The compressed audio data is encoded in the same manner as the image data, further modulated, and sent to the telephone line 14.

Specifically, for example, when corresponding to an A4 original, compressed audio data is read from the memory 3 by 1728 bits corresponding to the number of one line dot of the A4 original, and each 1728 bits is one-dimensional by run length. Encoding or two-dimensional encoding processing is performed, and EOL
May be added and transmitted.

It should be noted that the following processes A to D are performed in sending the above-mentioned compressed audio data so that the comment audio can be reproduced well by reading the received document on the receiver side. .

Process A: In order to prevent bit errors due to the restriction of the resolution of the line sensor, 1 of compressed audio data is used.
The bits are processed so as to correspond to two pixels in the main scanning direction at the time of printing. That is, 864 bits of compressed audio data (corresponding to the 1/2 dot number of one line of A4) is consecutively obtained twice for each bit, and encoding processing by run length is performed for each 1728 bits, and EOL is set. It is added and sent.

Process B: Similarly, in order to prevent a bit error due to the restriction of the resolution of the line sensor, the process of the transmission data is performed so that each line on the recording paper which is an image of the compressed audio data is printed at a predetermined interval. I do. For example, after the compressed audio data for 2 lines is transmitted, the data for all white lines for 2 lines is inserted.

Process C: A black line for several lines for indicating the start position of the compressed audio data on the reception recording paper (see FIG. 2).
(Corresponding to the line L1 shown in 1) is performed to perform image data generation processing for causing the receiver to print. In this case, on the transmitting side, for example, the original reading range is limited to the number of lines corresponding to half of the original, and when the image reading in that range is completed, several lines of black lines are added after the image data of the final line. Image data is generated and transmitted, and then compressed audio data is transmitted. Alternatively, a black line is inserted in the main scanning direction on the transmission document itself, and after reading the black line, the compressed audio data is transmitted. It should be noted that it is possible to know the degree of inclination between the received original and the line sensor when reading the received recorded original from the line L1.

Process D: A black line for several lines in the sub-scanning direction (line L shown in FIG. 2) for indicating the left end reference position on the recording paper when reading an image based on compressed audio data.
Image data generation processing for causing the receiver to print (corresponding to 2). For example, the first 4 bits of the 1728 bits forming one line are set to "0011", and the compressed audio data is put into the remaining bits for encoding.

Next, a series of operations in this comment transmission will be briefly described. First, when the comment transmission mode is selected by the user, "Please input voice" is displayed on the display panel (not shown). When the user utters a comment, A / D conversion of the audio signal, data compression, and memory storage processing are performed. When the voice input is completed, a dial call is made, and after the call is received, the communication procedure is executed, then the document is read and the image data is transmitted. When the transmission of the image data is completed, the black line image data signal forming the identification line L1 is transmitted, and thereafter, the compressed audio data stored in the memory 3 is regarded as the image data and transmitted. Then, when the transmission of the compressed audio data is completed, the ending procedure is executed and the processing is ended.

[Reproduction of comment voice: 1] In the following, as the reproduction process of the comment voice, first, the case where the recording paper is received will be described.

FIG. 2 shows a reception recording paper on which a route guide map and comment voice data are printed on one page. That is, the route guide map is printed and recorded by the data forming the original image of the received document image data, and the dot and line pattern is printed by the compressed voice data sent as the document image data. Further, the voice comment identification line L1 is generated by the black line image data generated by the process C.
However, the voice comment left end reference line L2 is printed by the black line image data generated in the process D.

To reproduce the comment voice from the received recording paper, the facsimile apparatus is set to the voice reproduction mode, and the received recording paper is set in the reading section 1. The reading unit 1 reads an image while feeding paper, generates black-and-white binary data, and sends it to the control unit 4. Then, the control unit 4 first selects the voice comment identification line L from the above-mentioned monochrome binary data.
The process of confirming 1 is performed.

If the voice comment identification line L1 is a sufficiently thick line, all the dots of one line are black even if the print line of the receiving recording paper and the line sensor of the reading unit 1 are not completely parallel. Because you can get the line
When such an all black line is detected, the line L1
Can be confirmed. Further, even if L1 is not so thick, it is possible to detect L1 by observing the relationship of the read data of several lines before and after.

When the identification line L1 is confirmed, the black and white binary data of the image read thereafter is stored in the memory 3.

Here, in the image reading of the reception recording paper,
There is no problem if the print line of the receiving recording paper and the line sensor of the reading unit 1 are parallel, but if they are not parallel, the image is read at an angle, and the print dots for the compressed audio data shown in FIG. The data array stored in No. 3 is as shown in FIG. 4, for example.

The amount of deviation in the sub-scanning direction with respect to each line in the sub-scanning direction can be determined based on the all black lines in the identification line L1 or from the relationship of the read data of several lines before and after. it can. For example, it can be determined that a shift of 1 pixel has occurred in the 12th line and a shift of 2 pixels has occurred in the 13th line, and the information is stored in memory 3 or the like. In addition, for each line in the main scanning direction, the amount of deviation in the main scanning direction is determined by the identification line L.
It can be judged by 2. For example, the (m + 4)
If the line is used as a reference, it can be determined that there is a shift of one pixel to the left in the (m + 8) th line, and the information is stored in the memory 3 or the like.

The read start address of the pixel data by the compressed audio data is (m + 4, 6), and in the subsequent reading, the processing is performed according to the information held in the memory 3. That is, since there is no deviation in the 7th to 8th pixels (m
The corresponding pixel data of the +4) line is read out, and the ninth to the first
Up to 2 pixels, the corresponding pixel data of the (m + 5) line considering the shift of 1 pixel is read, and from the 13th to 16th pixels, the corresponding pixel data of the (m + 6) line considering the shift of 2 pixels is read. Thus, the reading order is controlled. Further, when reading the corresponding pixel data at the address (m + 8), there is a shift of one pixel in the main scanning direction, and according to the information stored in the memory 3, for example, (m
(M + 8,1) after reading data at address +7,16
6) The generation of the address is controlled so that the data of the address is read.

Here, the data of the first column read according to the contents of FIG. 4 is "11000011110011."
0011 ... ”, and the data in the second column is also“ 11.
000011111100110011 ... ". Since one bit of the compressed audio data is represented by a total of four pixels of two pixels in the main scanning direction and two pixels in the sub scanning direction at the time of printing, the data line of the above two lines is Data is obtained by ORing each bit, and further, the first bit and the second bit of the data string are ORed, and the third bit and the fourth bit are O
A data string is generated by ORing odd bits and even bits like R. As a result, the above data string becomes "100110101 ...", and the compressed audio data is reproduced. Here, for example, the first compressed audio data
Four pixels [(m + 4,6) (m +
Even if three pixels of (4, 7) (m + 5, 6) (m + 5, 7)] are missing (white), the first bit of the compressed audio data is reproduced as “1”. can do.

The compressed voice data generated as described above is temporarily stored in the memory 3. Then, for example, after all the audio compressed data are stored in the memory 3, the reading of the compressed audio data is started, and the read compressed audio data is input to the data decompression unit 8.

The data decompression unit 8 performs a data decompression process corresponding to the existing data compression performed by the data compression unit 5. The decompressed digital audio data is input to the D / A converter 9 to be converted into an analog audio signal, and the audio output unit 10 outputs the audio.

In this embodiment, 1 of compressed audio data is used.
Although the bits are transmitted in association with 4 pixels of 2 × 2, other matrix configurations are possible. Further, the line sensor has been described as having the same resolution as the recording pixel density, but a 1 × 1 matrix configuration may be used by increasing the resolution of the sensor.

[Reproduction of comment voice: 2] Next, the reproduction of the comment voice when the memory reception is performed will be described. In the case of the memory reception, since the operation of reading the received document is not necessary, the above-described processing, for example, the processing of representing 1 bit of the audio compression data by 4 pixels or providing the reference line L2 is unnecessary.

In the case of memory reception, it suffices to be able to determine from which address in the memory 3 the compressed audio data is stored. As a means for this, for example, as a unique mode, there is a method of adding a code indicating the start of compressed audio data on the transmitting side, and the data after receiving the code is compressed audio data on the receiving side. You can know. Alternatively, as described above, the receiving side may determine several black lines that mean the start of compressed audio data. Note that this processing is performed after decoding the encoded compressed audio data in the memory 3.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the voice data is signaled as image data, it is not necessary for the receiver to wait for the person to receive the voice message, and the other party is absent. The voice comment can be transmitted even in the case where the telephone cannot be answered due to some circumstances. Of course, there is also an effect that it is not necessary to increase the number of lines.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a facsimile apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing contents printed on a reception recording paper.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a voice data portion in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a data storage state of a memory which is assumed when the line sensor of the reading unit and the line of the reception recording paper are not parallel.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 reading unit 2 recording unit 3 memory 4 control unit 5 data compression unit 6 A / D converter 7 voice input unit 8 data decompression unit 9 D / A converter 10 voice output unit 11 encoding / decoding unit 12 modem 13 network Control unit

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] April 14, 1993

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0015

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Transmission of comment voice] The input voice is converted into an analog voice signal by the voice input unit 7,
Further, this analog voice signal is converted into a digital voice signal by the A / D converter 6. The digital voice signal may be used as it is, but since the data amount is large and the voice comment time is shortened as a result, for example, an existing data compression technique such as the ADM method (adaptive delta modulation) is used, The compression unit 5 reduces the signal amount. Then, this compressed audio data is stored in the memory 3.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A voice input means for converting an input voice into an analog voice signal, and the analog voice signal
Means for performing D / D conversion to generate digital audio data,
A facsimile apparatus comprising: a memory for storing the digital voice data; and means for handling the digital voice data read from the memory as image data and transmitting the signal. 2. A recording section for printing on a recording sheet based on the received image data, an original reading section for reading the content of the original to generate black and white binary data, and a received recording sheet read by the original reading section. Facsimile apparatus comprising means for D / A converting black-and-white binary data corresponding to the digital voice data to convert into an analog voice signal, and means for converting the analog voice signal into voice. . 3. A memory for storing the received image data, means for D / A converting the binary black-and-white data corresponding to the digital audio data obtained by reading from this memory, and converting it into an analog audio signal. A facsimile apparatus comprising: means for converting an analog voice signal into voice.