JPH066557A - Facsimile communication method and facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To omit useless communication caused by absence or obscurity of absence of a recipient and to send information efficiently by registering absence information in the facsimile equipment and allowing the facsimile equipment to send absence information to the caller when the facsimile equipment receives the information automatically. CONSTITUTION:A sender person sets an original in the facsimile equipment (FAX) at a caller side and dials a destination and depresses a transmission start button, then the transmission is started. Upon the receipt of a call signal from the caller FAX, the FAX at the called party sends a called station identification signal and then sends an NSF signal (nonstandard function signal) to the sender side FAX. A communication control section 11 adds absence information Ai stored in a storage section 18 to an NSF identification code and NSF additional information under the control of a CPU 17 and the resulting information is sent when the NSF signal is sent. Upon the receipt of the signal, the caller FAX analyzes the content and identifies it to be the absence information Ai based on the absence party information function code Ai and displays the content on a display section and reports it to the sender by an alarm tone that the called party is absent.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile communication method and a facsimile device. Facsimile communication
Information (original) can be transmitted from the sender to the receiver at any time, and the received information can be printed and left on paper, making it a rapid means for daily information transmission. It is popular.

[0002] When facsimile communication becomes commonplace, it is assumed that the sender will send the manuscript and the recipient will see it immediately, and further, if the manuscript is sent, it is transmitted to the receiver. There is a possibility that the belief of "is generated" and that it may develop into an unexpected trouble.

Therefore, there is a demand for a facsimile communication method and a facsimile device which can prevent such troubles from occurring as much as possible.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally used facsimile machines can receive information regardless of the presence / absence of a recipient by an automatic reception function.

The sender (calling side) can also send the information at any time, and whether or not the information has been normally transmitted is sent by, for example, a printed communication result sheet. You can easily find out later.

[0006]

However, even if the transmitted information reaches the facsimile apparatus on the receiving side, there is no guarantee that it will certainly reach the intended recipient. For example, if the recipient is absent during a business trip or the like, the received information (received document) is left on the paper discharge tray of the facsimile machine or on the desk, and does not reach the recipient.

Nevertheless, the sender, who thinks that it has reached the receiver, waits a long time for the reply from the receiver to the transmission contents, which wastes time or misses the timing of business execution. It can happen. Further, even if it is not necessary to wait for a reply, if it is not worth noting that the transmitted information does not reach the recipient by a certain date and time, the facsimile communication itself becomes useless.

Further, since the received original document which is not delivered to the recipient is exposed to the eyes of others other than the recipient, it becomes a big problem when confidentiality of information is required.

Therefore, in order to prevent such a problem, the sender calls the recipient before or after the transmission of the original to confirm the existence of the recipient, to notify the facsimile transmission, or to send the original. We were checking whether or not the message arrived, and it took extra time and effort to make such contact or confirmation.

Further, in order to eliminate the above-mentioned useless facsimile reception on the receiver side, it is conceivable to turn off the power supply of the facsimile apparatus and put it in an unreceivable state when absent due to a holiday or business trip. . Then, even general facsimile communication that does not have confidentiality and prompt response becomes impossible, which causes a problem, and the characteristic of arbitrary time of facsimile communication is lost.

In view of the above problems, the present invention eliminates wasteful communication due to the absence or unknown presence of the recipient without sacrificing the arbitrariness of the time of facsimile communication, thereby improving efficiency. The purpose is to enable good communication.

[0012]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the method according to the invention of claim 1 is as follows, as shown in FIG.
Facsimile device 1 receives absent information Ai indicating absence.
Is registered, and the absence information Ai is transmitted to the calling side when the facsimile device 1 automatically receives the absent information.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an apparatus for inputting the absent information Ai, a storage section 18 for storing the absent information Ai, and the absent information Ai are read out to the calling side. Control unit 17 for controlling transmission
And an instruction unit 31 for instructing the control unit 17 whether or not to transmit the absence information Ai.

The apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention comprises a display unit 33 for displaying the content of the absent information Ai when it is received from the called side. The apparatus according to the invention of claim 4 is configured to automatically call the destination of the next rank registered in advance when the absence information Ai is received from the called side after the call is made.

[0015]

When the recipient of the facsimile device 1 is absent, the absence information Ai is registered in the facsimile device 1 so that the absence information Ai is transmitted to the calling side during automatic reception. .

On the calling side, for example, the absence information Ai transmitted from the called side is displayed on the display unit 33, and an alarm sound is emitted. As a result, the caller can know whether or not the receiver is absent, and can perform appropriate communication or treatment according to the absence.

Further, when the destinations of the next rank are automatically called when the absence information Ai is received,
The transmission information can be reliably sent to the recipient who is not absent.

[0018]

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile apparatus 1 according to the present invention. The facsimile device 1 includes a communication control unit 11 that is connected to a facsimile line and controls communication procedure signals, an operation panel unit 12 that inputs a telephone number and displays a status, and a scanner unit 1 that reads a document.
3, a printer unit 14 for printing, a ROM 15 in which a control program is stored, a RAM serving as a work area of the program
16, CPU1 for controlling the entire device according to the mode
7, a storage unit 18 in which the absence information Ai is stored, a compression / decompression unit 19, and the like.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the operation panel section 12 of the facsimile apparatus 1 according to the present invention. Operation panel unit 12
Is an input unit 32 for inputting a telephone number or absence information Ai, an absence mode button 31 for setting or canceling an absence mode, a stop button 34, and a destination change button 35 for changing the destination and transmitting. The transmission start button 36, and the display unit 3 for displaying various messages or other information regarding the operating state of the apparatus or the setting state of the mode.
Have three.

The absence mode is a mode in which the absence information Ai is transmitted as a part of the non-standard function signal 40 at the time of an automatic incoming call. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration (excerpt of relevant portions) of the non-standard function signal 40 transmitted from the facsimile apparatus 1 according to the present invention.

The non-standard function signal 40 includes an NSF identification code 41, NSF additional information 42, and absent information Ai. The NSF identification code 41 is a 1-byte fixed code recommended by CCITT. The NSF additional information 42 is information that defines the paper size, the data transmission rate, and the like.

The absence information Ai is further added to the NSF additional information 4
2 is information added to the absentee information function code Ai
1, personal code Ai2, presence code Ai3, absence period A
i4, desired transmission time Ai5, and the like.

The absentee information function code Ai1 is a code for identifying the additional function of the data following the NSF additional information 42, which indicates that the following data is the absent information Ai.

The personal code Ai2 is a code indicating a name or identification number for identifying the registrant of the absence information Ai. The presence / absence code Ai3 indicates the presence / absence, the absence period Ai4 indicates the absence period, and the desired transmission time Ai5 indicates the time when the user wants to transmit instead of this time.

In addition, return time, holiday information, etc. can be added as absent information Ai, and absent information Ai for two or more people can also be added. When the absence mode is set and the automatic reception is performed, the absence information Ai stored (registered) in the storage unit 18 is added as a part of the non-standard function signal 40 and transmitted to the calling side. On the calling side, the absent information Ai included in the received non-standard function signal 40 is identified, the content is displayed on the display unit 33, or an alarm sound is emitted according to the content.

Next, the operation and operation of the facsimile apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. First, a method of registering the absence information Ai will be described.

When the input section 32 of the operation panel section 12 is operated to enter the registration mode, a registration menu is displayed on the display section 33, and the absence information registration mode is selected from the menu.
In accordance with the message displayed on the display unit 33, the personal code Ai2, the presence / absence code Ai3, the absence period Ai4, etc. are sequentially input from the input unit 32.

As a result, the input data is stored in the storage section 18 as the absent information Ai. Then, by pressing the absence mode button 31, the absence mode is set,
Absence information Ai stored in the storage unit 18 when automatically received
Is sent to the calling party. To cancel the absence mode, press the absence mode button 31 again and then the stop button 34.
push.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a communication procedure when the absence mode is set. In this example, it is assumed that the calling side and the called side use the facsimile machines 1a and 1b having the same functions as the above-mentioned facsimile machine 1.

In FIG. 4, on the calling side, the sender sets a document on the facsimile apparatus 1a, designates (dials) the other party, and presses the transmission start button 36 to start transmission.

When the called facsimile machine 1b receives the calling signal CNG (calling / tone) from the calling facsimile machine 1a, it sends a CED (callee identification) signal and then an NSF signal. (Non-standard function signal 40)
Is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus 1a on the transmission side.

When the non-standard function signal 40 is transmitted, the communication control section 11 controls the absence information Ai stored in the storage section 18 by the control of the CPU 17 into the NSF identification code 4.
1 and NSF additional information 42 is added and transmitted.

Upon receiving the non-standard function signal 40, the facsimile machine 1a on the calling side analyzes the content, identifies that it is the absence information Ai by the absentee information function code Ai1, and displays the content. In addition to being displayed on the section 33, an alarm sound notifies the sender that the called party is absent.

As a result, the sender can know the absence of the receiver at time T1 before the start of transmission of the image signal PIX, and determines whether or not to continue the transmission according to the contents of the original. .

Therefore, when the contents of the manuscript need to be viewed immediately by the receiver, when the receiver needs an immediate answer, or when confidentiality is required, the manuscript is received without being transmitted, for example. It is possible to take other appropriate means such as sending the manuscript to a person representing the person or postponing the sending.

When the absence information Ai is not present, it is considered that the recipient is present, so that it is considered certain that the transmitted document reaches the recipient, and the sender feels secure. Is obtained.

Therefore, it is not necessary for the sender to make a telephone call to the recipient for contact or confirmation, and it is possible to reduce unnecessary time and labor as in the conventional case and to quickly transmit information (original). It can be performed reliably and reliably, and it is easy to maintain confidentiality.

Further, since it is not necessary for the receiver side to turn off the power of the facsimile machine even in the absence of a person for a long time, there is no problem in general facsimile communication which does not require prompt response or confidentiality, and the facsimile machine does not have any trouble. The arbitrariness of communication time is maintained.

As described above, the conventional facsimile communication is one-sided transmission using the automatic reception function. However, when the facsimile apparatus 1 of this embodiment is used, the absence information Ai is sent when the recipient is absent. Since the state of the called side is transmitted and the calling side is informed, unnecessary communication can be omitted when the receiver is absent even in a state where automatic reception is possible, which saves time and communication charges. Can be reduced,
The convenience of the facsimile machine 1 can be improved. In addition, since the absence of the recipient becomes clear, it is possible to predict the time of reply to the transmitted manuscript, which is also useful for improving the efficiency of the work.

The absent information Ai is displayed on the display unit 33 on the calling side.
When is displayed or is not displayed, if the stop button 34 is not pressed, the transmission is continued as it is, and the document information is transmitted to the called side by transmitting the image signal PIX.

In the facsimile apparatus 1, when the called party is absent, the transmission partner can be changed in the order registered in advance to make a call. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a communication procedure for making a call by changing the destination.

In FIG. 5, the operation procedure up to time T1 for making a call is the same as the normal communication procedure of FIG. 4, but when the absence information Ai is displayed on the display unit 33, the stop button 34 is pressed. Instead, the destination change mode is entered by pressing the destination change button 35.

In the destination change mode, the facsimile machine 1a sends a DCN (disconnect command) signal to disconnect the line once. After that, a call is made to the next registered destination in advance and communication is performed in the same procedure as in FIG.

It is also possible to set the destination change mode from the beginning. In that case, when the facsimile device 1a detects the absent information Ai from the called side, at time T1, a control for automatically calling the destination of the next rank is made without pressing the destination change button 35. I do.

In the above-described embodiment, the absence information Ai is transmitted as a part of the non-standard function signal 40. Therefore, the calling side can know the presence or absence of the called side before transmitting the original. However, in that case, a sender who is not accustomed to handling the absence information Ai may take time to operate. In consideration of this point, the absence information Ai may be transmitted after the document is transmitted.

In this case, the absence information Ai may be added to the newly defined non-standard NOP signal shown in FIG. 4, for example. As a result, at time T2, the absence information A
Since i is displayed on the display unit 33 and an alarm sound is emitted, the sender can take an appropriate action as necessary after sending the original.

The absence information Ai from the called party may be printed on the communication result sheet of the facsimile apparatus 1a. The absence information Ai received at the time point T1 may be stored in the RAM 16, and the absence information Ai stored in the RAM 16 may be displayed and an alarm sound may be emitted at the end of the communication.

In the above embodiment, for example, the personal code Ai2, the presence / absence code Ai3, or the desired transmission time Ai5 is used.
The contents and order of the absent information Ai can be variously changed by omitting the above or adding other information.

In the above embodiment, the operation panel section 12
The type, name, arrangement, etc. of the button can be variously changed. A memory mode in which image data is temporarily stored in the memory may be used. The input of the document may be transferred as image data from, for example, the host computer without using the scanner unit 13.

In addition, the configuration of each part of the facsimile apparatus 1 can be variously changed in accordance with the gist of the present invention.

[0051]

According to the present invention, wasteful communication due to the absence or unknown presence of the receiver is omitted without impairing the arbitrariness of time of facsimile communication, and information can be efficiently transmitted. Can communicate.

According to the invention of claim 2, the absence information can be easily registered, and whether or not the absence information is actually transmitted can be easily switched. According to the invention of claim 3, the calling party can easily know the absence information of the called party.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the first called recipient is absent, the recipients who are not absent are automatically called in order to secure the original to any recipient. Can be sent to.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a front view of an operation panel unit of the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a nonstandard function signal transmitted from the facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a communication procedure when an absence mode is set.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a communication procedure when a call is made by changing a destination.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Facsimile Machine 11 Communication Control Section (Control Section) 12 Operation Panel Section 17 CPU (Control Section) 18 Storage Section 31 Absence Mode Button (Instruction Section) 32 Input Section 33 Display Section Ai Absence Information

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. Absence information (Ai) indicating absence is registered in a facsimile machine (1), and when the facsimile machine (1) automatically receives the absence information (Ai),
A facsimile communication method characterized by transmitting i) to the calling side. 2. A facsimile apparatus (1) used in the facsimile communication method according to claim 1, wherein an input section (32) for inputting the absence information (Ai) and the absence information (Ai) are stored. Storage for (18)
And a control unit (17) for reading out the absence information (Ai) and controlling transmission to the calling side, and whether or not to transmit the absence information (Ai) to the control unit (17). A facsimile apparatus comprising: an instruction unit (31) for instructing whether or not. 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a display unit (33) for displaying the content when the absence information (Ai) is received from the called side. 4. When the absence information (Ai) is received from the called side after the call is made, the previously registered destination of the next order is automatically called. Claim 3
The described facsimile machine.