JPH0766925A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute the facsimile equipment so that a storage means can be vacated by executing an appropriate processing, and the use efficiency of the storage means is improved by classifying and displaying the use amount of the storage means in accordance with a classification of data stored in the storage means. CONSTITUTION:Images stored in a storage means 4 are all managed by a management record generated on a RAM 3, and by a reason why they are stored in the storage means 4, such attributes as transmitting reservation, polling transmission, confidential reception, etc., and written in. In such a state, when an operator necessitates the storage means 4, and executes a request or displaying the use amount of the storage means 4, a CPU 1 retrieves a management record, classifies it at every attribute of the image, calculates the use amount of the storage means 4, and displays it on an indicator 6. Also, when the remaining quantity is insufficient, and a target processing cannot be continued, its fact is displayed. Accordingly, by looking at the display of the indicator 6, such processings as it is instructed to output the image which can be outputted, and a destination person is allowed to execute the output operation of confidential reception, etc., by which the storage means 4 can be vacated.

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 In a conventional facsimile apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a first conventional apparatus) having storage means such as a memory and a hard disk, there is a state in which image data is stored in the storage means.

For example, an output operation may be performed for an image waiting for output due to a recording paper shortage or confidential reception, an image waiting for transmission for redial, transmission for time designated transmission, polling transmission, or the like. , The state of being stored in the storage means exists until the transmission is completed.

Normally, the usage rate of the storage means for storing these images is displayed on the display means when the user performs an operation that requires the storage means, such as a transmission reservation, but it depends on the type of the image. Instead, only the usage amount or the remaining usable amount of the storage means is displayed.

Further, conventionally, there is known a facsimile machine (hereinafter referred to as a second facsimile machine) in which all originals are read once into a memory, and after the reading is completed, a calling operation is started to perform transmission. ing. In such a facsimile machine, unlike a facsimile machine that transmits a document in synchronization with the reading of the document, it is not necessary to wait until the document is released after the transmission is completed, and the document can be brought back when the reading operation is completed. It was convenient when sending a large number of originals or originals with complicated pictures that require a long communication time.

[0006]

In the above-mentioned first conventional apparatus, since the type of the image occupying the storage means is not known, the available remaining amount is small, and an operation requiring the storage means such as a reservation for transmission. If it is not possible, it is necessary to wait until the storage means becomes free, and there is a drawback in that the utilization efficiency of the facsimile device deteriorates.

Further, in the above-described second conventional apparatus, when transmission reservation operations are continuously performed, a situation may occur in which a large amount of image data exists in the memory and is waiting for transmission. In that case, since it is not known when the next reserved item will be sent, some users may feel uneasy and are not easy to use, and if the original has a fixed transmission deadline, use the communication reservation function. Therefore, there is a drawback that smooth use of the facsimile machine is hindered, such as searching for another facsimile machine or forcibly performing an interrupt operation.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a facsimile apparatus capable of improving utilization efficiency.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention (claim 1) is a storage means for storing data such as image data and management information, and an input character and device. In a facsimile apparatus provided with a display unit for displaying information such as a state, control is performed so that the usage status of the storage unit is classified according to the type of data stored in the storage unit and displayed on the display unit. It is characterized in that a control means is provided.

In order to achieve the same object, a second aspect of the present invention (claim 5) is a storage means for storing data such as image data and management information, and input information such as characters and the state of the apparatus. Facsimile apparatus provided with display means for displaying, a transmission reservation means for making a call after storing a document in the storage means, and a display control means for graphically displaying the usage status of the storage means on the display means. In the above, the calculation means for calculating the time until the completion of transmission of the image stored in the storage means for transmission from the usage amount of the storage means, the communication speed and the communication method, and then the transmission reservation operation was performed. A second display control means for displaying the estimated transmission time at that time on the display means is provided.

[0011]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the facsimile apparatus classifies and displays the usage amount of the storage means according to the type of data stored in the storage means, and informs the user of the type of the image occupying the storage means. . As a result, what can be recorded can be recorded and the storage means can be emptied, so that the usage efficiency is improved.

Further, the facsimile apparatus according to a second aspect displays the amount of image data existing in the memory in a graph and calculates the time until all the reserved data are transmitted, Display when the reserved image will be sent. As a result, the usability of the user is improved and the usage efficiency is improved.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a CPU (central processing unit).
Then, the entire apparatus is controlled according to the contents of the program stored in the ROM (Read Only Memory) 2. Also,
RAM3 is used as a work area as needed.

The original is read by a contact sensor (CS) 10 and read by a read control gate array (R-CN).
T) 8 is compression-encoded and stored in the image memory (DRAM) 4 which is a storage means. When a recording request is issued from the CPU 1, the image data stored in the image memory 4 is expanded and composited by a recording control gate array (W-CNT) 9 and recorded on recording paper by a laser printer (LBP) 11. When a transmission request is issued from the CPU 1, the image information stored in the image memory 4 is stored in the CPU 1
Is compressed and encoded according to the mode of the other device,
After being PM-AM modulated by the modulation / demodulator (MODEM) 12, it is output to the line 14 through the network control unit (NCU) 13.

The image data received through the line 14 is also modulated and demodulated by the network control unit 13.
2 and is demodulated by the modulation demodulator 12 and CP
The image data is decompressed and composited by U1, inspected for an image error, and if correct, compressed and encoded by the CPU 1 and then stored in the image memory 4.

Further, the operator can perform various instructions and settings and input of information by depressing various keys of the key (KEY) board 7 which is the information input means. The contents of the information are displayed (L
It can be confirmed by being displayed on the CD) 6. In this case, the CPU 1 detects key input data from the keyboard 7 through the operation panel control gate array (OP-CNT) 5 and causes the display 6 to display the necessary data.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, a record for managing an image stored in the image memory 4 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of a record that manages images stored in the image memory 4, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of the image attribute field of the image management record.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of the usage state of the image memory 4. All the images stored in the image memory 4 are RAM
It is managed by the management record as shown in FIG. Attributes as shown in FIG. 3 are written therein because of the reason why the attributes are stored in the image memory 4.

When the operator performs a memory-requiring operation such as a transmission reservation and requests to display the memory usage amount, the CPU 1 retrieves the management record shown in FIG. 2 and classifies it by image attribute. , Calculate memory usage. And
The display as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the display unit 6.

Further, when the remaining amount of memory is insufficient and the processing intended by the operator cannot be continued, a message to that effect is displayed on the display unit 6.

When the operator cannot perform the intended operation due to lack of memory, he / she can look at the display on the display unit 6 and if there is an image that can be output, perform appropriate processing, for example, proxy reception for running out of recording paper. If there is any, the recording paper is replenished and an output instruction is given. If there is a confidential reception, processing such as causing the person who is the destination to perform an output operation is performed to free the memory and continue the intended operation. be able to.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The basic configuration of the facsimile apparatus according to this embodiment is the same as that of FIG. 1 in the above-described first embodiment, and moreover, the configuration and the image of the record that manages the image stored in the image memory 4 Since the contents of the image attribute field of the management record are the same as those in FIGS. 2 and 3 in the above-described first embodiment, FIG.
The description will be made with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of the usage status of the image memory 4 and the scheduled transmission time.

When the operator performs a memory-requiring operation such as a transmission reservation and requests to display the memory usage, the CPU 1 retrieves the management record shown in FIG. 2 and classifies it by image attribute. , Calculate memory usage.

From the image data amount reserved for transmission, the total communication time is calculated from the following equation (1) according to the following equation.

Pre-communication procedure time = device-specific value Image transmission time = data amount / communication speed Post-communication procedure time = device-specific value Total transmission time = (pre-communication procedure time + post-procedure time + α) × communications number + image transmission time (1) The correction parameter α, the communication speed, and the device-specific value are registered in the image memory 4 in advance by a key input operation on the keyboard 7. Then, a display as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the display unit 6.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the second embodiment described above, the image transmission time depends on the communication speed and the amount of data, but the communication speed differs slightly depending on the performance of the partner device and the state of the line, and the amount of data also slightly differs depending on the encoding method. , Are not uniform because they are determined in the pre-communication procedure of each communication. Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to improve the accuracy of calculation of the total transmission time, the image transmission time is calculated for each reserved communication.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a management table of information of the other party with whom communication has been performed. The management table shown in the same figure is created in the RAM 3, and the ID number, telephone number, and previous communication speed of the other party are created. Information such as a communication coding method and the presence / absence of ECM is stored.

When the image management record of the image waiting to be transmitted shown in FIG. 2 is searched, the destination information (octet 4) of the destination of the transmission reservation is checked, and the ID of the destination management table of FIG.
Alternatively, when the telephone number matches, the previous communication speed written in the partner management table is referred to. If the encoding method used for communication is different from the encoding method of the image stored in the memory, the data amount is corrected and the communication time is calculated.

If a partner not stored in the partner management table is reserved, it is assumed that the communication speed and the data amount that are generally used are the same as in the second embodiment. Then, the communication time is calculated.

[Other Embodiments] In the above-described first embodiment, when the images are classified and displayed according to their attributes, FIG.
In addition to the graph display as shown in, the combination of the display methods is arbitrary, such as displaying the usage ratio or the remaining usable amount with respect to the total capacity by numbers, or displaying both the graph and the numbers.

In addition, the classification is not limited to one layer, but is first displayed separately for transmission waiting and recording waiting, and then the breakdown of images waiting for recording is displayed. It is also possible to display by dividing into layers.

[0034]

As described above, according to the facsimile apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention (claim 1), the usage amount of the storage means is classified according to the type of data stored in the storage means. By displaying in this way, the user can know the type of the image occupying the storage means, and it is possible to perform the appropriate processing to free the storage means, and the usable amount of the storage means can be reduced. There is no need to wait until the number increases, improving usage efficiency.

According to the second aspect of the present invention (Claim 5), the amount of image data existing in the memory is displayed in a graph and all the reserved data are transmitted. By calculating the time to be displayed and displaying when the next reserved image will be sent,
The usability of the user is improved, and since it is possible to confirm whether or not it is in time even if the transmission is hurried, unnecessary interrupt processing is reduced and usage efficiency is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a record managing an image stored in an image memory of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the content of an image attribute field of a record for image management in the same device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of a usage state of an image memory in the same apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a display example of a usage state of an image memory and a scheduled transmission time in a facsimile apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a management table of information of a communication partner in a facsimile apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 CPU (control means) 4 Image memory (storage means) 6 Display (display means)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile device comprising a storage means for storing data such as image data and management information, and a display means for displaying information such as inputted characters and the state of the apparatus. A facsimile apparatus comprising control means for controlling so that the situation is displayed on the display means by classifying the situation according to the type of data stored in the storage means. 2. The data type classification by the control means is carried out for an image which has been subjected to a transmission operation and is waiting for transmission, and an image which has been subjected to a reception operation and is waiting for output. The facsimile apparatus according to Item 1. 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit classifies the type of data by image data and other management information. 4. The type of data is classified by the control means according to a recording system error such as a recording paper out of an image waiting to be output and a confidential reception. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, 5. A storage means for storing data such as image data and management information, a display means for displaying information such as input characters and the state of the apparatus, and a storage means for storing a manuscript after the original is stored in the storage means. In a facsimile apparatus provided with a transmission reservation unit for calling and a display control unit for displaying the use status of the storage unit on the display unit as a graph, until the transmission of an image stored in the storage unit for transmission is completed. A calculating means for calculating the time from the usage amount of the storage means, a communication speed, and a communication method, and a second display control means for displaying the expected transmission time when the next transmission reservation operation is performed on the display means. A facsimile machine characterized by being provided. 6. When selecting a parameter of a communication speed and a communication method used for calculation of a scheduled transmission time, a parameter of a transmission reservation partner is stored in advance in the storage means and stored. If not, general-purpose parameters are used unless otherwise specified. 7. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a changing unit for changing a parameter of a communication speed and a communication method, which is generally referred to when calculating the scheduled transmission time, according to a past history. .