JPH0763169B2 - Image communication device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image communication apparatus having a function of providing an image signal automatic transmission service in response to a request from a calling side.

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional device of this type, there is a facsimile device having a so-called polling function. The facsimile apparatus having the polling function is configured to perform the automatic transmission service of the image signal according to the request from the calling side by the communication control procedure as shown in FIG.

That is, in FIG. 5, first, when the operator on the calling side performs a dial call operation, a call signal of 16 Hz is sent from the exchange to the called side via the line.

The called side receiving this call signal connects the line by the automatic call reception function and sends CED (callee confirmation signal) consisting of a 2100 Hz tone signal to the calling side. Subsequently, the NSF signal (non-standard function signal), CSI signal (called terminal identification signal) and DIS (digital identification signal) are sent to the calling side.

On the other hand, on the calling side, the operator confirms the reception sound of the CED signal and manually sets the polling reception switch to the ON state. As a result, the calling side has the NSC signal (non-standard function command signal corresponding to NSF signal), CIG signal (calling station identification signal corresponding to CSI signal), DTC signal (digital transmission command signal corresponding to DIS signal). ) To the called party. At this time, the device on the calling side inserts the password determined in advance into the FiF (facsimile information field) in the NSC signal and sends it to the called side.

The called party compares the password sent from the calling party with its own password. If the two passwords do not match as a result of this collation, control is performed to terminate communication here. If both passwords match, NS
Send S signal (non-standard function setting signal) or DCS signal (digital command signal) to the calling side.

After that, the training signal, the TCF signal (training check signal) and the CFR signal (reception preparation confirmation signal) are exchanged between the called side and the calling side to determine the modem speed and perform phase matching.

Only after this, the image signal, which is the actual information, is transmitted from the called side to the calling side.

When the transmission of the image signal is completed, EO is sent between the called side and the calling side.
The P signal (procedure end signal indicating the end of the image signal), the MCF signal (message confirmation signal), and the DCN signal (line disconnection command signal) are exchanged to complete the communication.

As described above, the automatic transmission service is provided in response to the request from the calling side.

Problem to be Solved by the Invention However, according to such a configuration, there is a problem that the automatic transmission service of the image signal according to a request from an unspecified partner cannot be performed.

The above problem occurs for the following reasons. That is, in order for the image signal to be automatically transmitted from the called side in response to the request from the calling side, the calling side has the same password function as the called side, and the calling side and the called side have the same password function. The condition is that the passwords set for each match.

Therefore, the automatic transmission service of the image signal cannot be provided to the general spread type facsimile apparatus having no password function. The same applies to a facsimile machine having different kinds of password functions. Also, even if it has the same type of password function as the called side, if the same password as the called side is not set, in this case also,
You cannot receive the automatic transmission service of image signals.

After all, if an attempt was made to provide an image signal transmission service in response to a request from an unspecified partner, there was no choice but to make a full-time operator stand by.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and ensures that the automatic transmission service of image signals is not confused with the normal reception operation for an unspecified caller who does not have a password function. An object of the present invention is to provide an image communication device that can be used.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention, together with an image transmitting means for transmitting a predetermined image signal stored in advance,
A voice response means for transmitting a predetermined response signal by voice to the telephone line connected by the automatic call reception function, and a signal detection means for detecting a signal from the calling side indicating the start of image reception via the telephone line. The image transmission means is provided with a structure for transmitting an image signal from the image transmission means to the telephone line in response to the detection by the signal detection means.

According to the present invention, when the calling side makes a dial call to call the called side by the above-described configuration, voice guidance is automatically sent from the called side to the calling side in response to this calling, and this voice guidance is provided. According to this, when the calling side sets the image receiving state, a predetermined image signal is automatically sent from the called side to the calling side. Therefore, the called side sends the image signal to the calling side. It is possible to automatically perform even for an unspecified person who does not have a password function.

Examples Hereinafter, preferred examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which L is a telephone line, 1 is an incoming call detection unit, 2 is a NUC (line control unit), 3 is a CED signal detection unit, Reference numeral 4 is a voice response unit, 5 is a facsimile transmission unit, 6 is a switching unit, 7 is a storage unit, 8 is a reading unit, 9 is a document, and 10 is a control unit.

The telephone line L is an ordinary telephone line.

The incoming call detection unit 1 detects a 16 Hz call signal transmitted from the exchange based on the dial transmission from the calling side terminal. The detection output is input to the control unit 10.

The NCU 2 monitors the state of the telephone line L and informs the control unit 10 thereof, and also connects (hooks off) and disconnects (hooks on) the telephone line L based on the detection of the incoming call detection unit 1. Therefore, this NCU 2 constitutes an automatic call receiving function together with the control unit 10.

The CED signal detector 3 detects a CED signal from the telephone line L connected via the NCU 2. This CED signal is a facsimile reception start signal that is first issued when the calling side sets the facsimile reception state.
It consists of a tone signal of Hz.

The voice response unit 4 sends a predetermined response signal AN by voice to the telephone line L which is automatically connected based on the arrival of the ringing signal. As the content of the response signal, for example, a guide message such as "This is an automatic transmission facsimile. Please set to the facsimile reception mode" is set in advance. The voice response unit 4 is composed of a ROM in which predetermined guidance message contents are written, a voice synthesis unit for converting the contents of the ROM into a voice signal, and the like.

The facsimile transmission unit 5 operates according to the detection of the CED signal detection means 3 and stores a predetermined image signal stored in advance.
Send PiX to the telephone line L. The facsimile transmission unit 5 includes a compression unit 51 that encodes an image signal to compress the amount of information, a modem 52 that modulates the encoded image signal, and the like.

The switching unit 6 operates according to a command from the control unit 10, and switches and selects either the response signal AN from the voice response unit 4 or the image signal PiX from the facsimile transmission unit 5 and transmits it to the telephone line L.

The storage unit 7 is a unit for pre-storing the image signal transmitted via the facsimile transmission unit 5, and is configured by using a battery-backed large-capacity semiconductor memory or an endless magnetic tape storage device.

The reading unit 8 reads the image of the document 9 line by line and writes the image in the storage unit 7. The reading unit 8 is used only when it is desired to newly store the image signal in the storage unit 7.

The control unit 10 is configured by using a general-purpose information processing device having a microcircuit, that is, a so-called microcomputer, and centrally controls the operation of each unit while monitoring the operation state of each unit described above.

The operation of the facsimile apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the outline of the operation of the above-mentioned facsimile apparatus.

In the figure, first, when the incoming call detection unit 1 detects an incoming call in the standby state after the start, the NCU 2 connects the telephone line (S1, S2, S3). Then, the voice response by the voice response unit 4 is started (S4). At the same time, the signal detector 3 is CE
Start the D signal detection operation. When the CED signal is not detected, the mode shifts to the normal reception mode (S5).

When the CED signal is detected, the voice response by the voice response unit 4 is stopped and the image signal is transmitted by the facsimile transmission unit 5 (S6, S7).

As described above, the transmission of the image signal in response to the request from the calling side is automatically started.

When the transmission of the image signal is completed, the telephone line is disconnected and the initial start state is restored (S9, S10, S1).

FIG. 3 shows an example of a communication control procedure in the above-mentioned facsimile apparatus.

In the figure, first, when the calling side, which is the side receiving the automatic transmission service, makes a dial call, a 16 Hz ringing signal is sent to the called facsimile machine through the exchange and the telephone line.

Upon receiving this call signal, the called side automatically performs a call receiving operation for connecting (hooking off) the telephone line. When an incoming call is made, voice guidance is sent to the calling side.

As a result, the calling side can know from the voice guidance that the facsimile automatic transmission service can be received if the facsimile reception mode is set.

Here, when the calling side desires the automatic transmission service and sets the facsimile reception mode, the NSF signal, the CSI signal, and the DIS signal are sent from the calling side to the called side by this setting. Then, the called party receiving these signals immediately returns the DCS signal or the NSS signal without performing a procedure such as password verification. Subsequently, the called side issues a training signal and a TCF signal, and the calling side issues a CFR signal to determine the modem speed and perform phase matching. After that, the image signal, which is the actual information, is transmitted from the called side to the calling side.

As described above, in the above-described facsimile apparatus, when the calling side calls the called side by dialing, the called side automatically sends a voice guidance from the called side to the calling side. According to this, when the calling side sets the facsimile reception state, a predetermined image signal is automatically sent from the called side to the calling side in response to this. As a result, it is possible to automatically provide the image signal transmission service from the called side to the calling side even for an unspecified party having no password function.

Therefore, the above-mentioned facsimile device is very effective for use in, for example, a news providing service by facsimile, various guidance services by facsimile, and a price list by facsimile.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic structure of a facsimile apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Only the differences from the above-described embodiment are shown. In the facsimile apparatus shown in the figure, the image signal encoded by the compression unit 51 is stored in the storage unit 7. As a result, the storage capacity of the storage unit 7 can be effectively utilized.

In addition, although not shown in the drawings, as an embodiment other than the above, for example, not the endless original or the image read from the original, but the text data created using a word processor or a drawing processor is converted into an image signal of the facsimile system. You may make it convert directly and may be made to transmit.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As is apparent from the above description, the signal detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the identification signal indicating the completion of the image reception preparation sent from the calling side through the telephone line, and the signal detecting means previously stored in the telephone line. Image transmitting means for transmitting a predetermined image signal,
According to the detection result of the identification signal output from the signal detection means, by providing the control means for selecting the transmission mode by the image transmission means or the reception mode, the identification signal from the calling side is When it is detected, the automatic transmission mode can be used, and when the identification signal from the calling side is not detected, the normal reception mode can be used.
This has an effect that the automatic transmission service of the image signal can be surely provided to an unspecified caller who does not have a password function without being mixed with a normal receiving operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the apparatus by a flow chart showing the operation procedure, and FIG. 3 is an example of a communication control procedure by the apparatus. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a communication control procedure by a conventional facsimile apparatus with a polling function. L: Telephone line, 1 ... Incoming call detection section, 2 ... NCU (line control unit), 3 ... CED signal detection section, 4 ... Voice response section, 5 ... Facsimile transmission section, 6 ... Switching section , 7 ...
... storage section, 8 ... reading section, 9 ... document, 10 ... control section,
AN: Voice response signal, PiX: Image signal.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (72) Hiroyasu Saito Inventor Hiroyasu Saito 2-3-8 Shimomeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo Matsushita Dentsu Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yuzuru Takase 2-3-8 Shimomeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo Issue Matsushita Dentsu Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-57-58456 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An incoming call detecting means for detecting a calling signal from a telephone line, a network control means for controlling connection with a telephone line based on the detection from the incoming call detecting means, and a network control means for connection. A voice response means for transmitting a voice prompting an image reception preparation to the telephone line; a signal detection means for detecting the presence or absence of an identification signal sent from the calling side through the telephone line to indicate the completion of image reception preparation; Image transmission means for transmitting a predetermined image signal stored in advance to the telephone line, and a transmission mode by the image transmission means or a reception mode according to the detection result of the identification signal output from the signal detection means. An image communication apparatus comprising: a control unit that selects whether to perform.