JPH0813047B2 - Storage and exchange device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a storage / exchange device, and more particularly, to a storage / exchange device in which memory usage efficiency and transmission time are shortened.

(Prior Art) With the recent spread of facsimile machines, a facsimile storage exchange apparatus has emerged which stores image information from a plurality of facsimile terminals in a memory and then transmits the information to a designated destination, thereby providing various communication services. Is going.

Such a facsimile storage / exchange apparatus temporarily stores the image information sent from the sending terminal in the memory and sends it to the designated destination. In the transmission from this storage exchange device, a priority is assigned to each image information for each transmission time designated by the transmission terminal or each image information (or terminal) from a plurality of transmission terminals, and each image information is designated according to this priority order. Image information is sent to the specified destination.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such a conventional store-and-forward apparatus, transmission from the store-and-forward apparatus is performed according to the transmission time designated by the terminal or the priority order set for each image information. Since it was done for each designated address, the number of messages at the time of transmission varied, and reduction of the transmission fee was insufficient. In addition, if there is a large amount of stored messages before the designated transmission, the memory overflows.

(Object of the Invention) Therefore, the present invention transmits image information collectively for each designated destination based on memory capacity information such as the number of stored telegrams or the number of stored message registrations for each designated destination, and information of a designated transmission time. By doing so, it is intended to equalize the amount of transmission messages to a fixed amount determined by the memory capacity and the like, prevent overflow of the memory, reduce the transmission cost, and improve the efficiency of use of the memory.

(Structure of the Invention) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention relates to a storage and switching device that receives transmissions from a plurality of terminals, stores them in a memory, and then transmits them to a designated destination. Transmission / reception management means for registering memory capacity information such as the number of stored message registrations and time information at a specified transmission time and managing transmission / reception for each destination, and image information for the same destination are linked and accumulated in the memory to manage image information Image information management means,
Is provided, and when the memory capacity information reaches a predetermined value or when the designated transmission time is reached, all the image information accumulated in the memory is transmitted to the designated destination.

 Hereinafter, specific description will be given based on examples of the present invention.

 1 to 3 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a facsimile storage / exchange device, and the facsimile storage / exchange device 1 is a communication control device (Comm
It includes a unication control unit (CCU) 2, a central processing unit (CPU) 3, a file management unit (transmission / reception management means and image information management means) 4, and a memory 5.

Communication control device 2 is a modulator / demodulator, compressor / reproducer and 2K
It has a Byte double buffer memory, etc., and stores the image information sent from the terminal in one side of the double buffer memory while performing demodulation and redundancy suppression coding. Memory 5
The image information transferred from is stored in one of the double buffer memories, then modulated and sent to the terminal.

The central processing unit 3 controls the communication control unit 2, the file management unit 4 and the memory 5 to execute the sequence as the facsimile storage and exchange apparatus 1, and at the same time, performs the memory management and image information transmission according to the present invention.

The memory 5 stores the image information transmitted from the terminal,
Files are managed for each designated destination.

As shown in FIG. 2, the file management unit 4 includes a memory section 4a, a processing section 4b and a management section 4c, and manages files in the memory 5. The memory unit 4a stores the file name of image information stored in the memory 5, image information pointer destination information, ID (identification: identification label), and other information necessary for file management and transmission, and the processing unit 4b. Rewrites, creates and deletes the registered contents of the memory unit 4a. The management unit 4c searches information for each destination registered in the memory unit 4a, manages the number of messages, and has a timer to manage the time designated for transmission.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the facsimile storage exchange apparatus 1
Are tangentially connected to the external lines a _{1 to} a _n and the extension facsimiles F _{1 to} F _m via a private branch exchange (PBX) 6, and the private branch exchange 6 is also connected to each other and to the extension and the external line. Also do.

 Next, the operation will be described.

The facsimile storage / exchange device 1 is a facsimile device or an extension facsimile device F ₁ to which is connected to external lines a _{1 to} a _n.
The image information transmitted from F _m is temporarily stored in the memory 5, read from the memory 5 at a predetermined time, and transmitted to a designated destination. In storing the image information in the facsimile storage / exchange apparatus 1, either the storage according to the method of the present invention or the storage according to the normal storage / exchange method can be selected. In the present embodiment, one of these storage / exchange methods can be selected for each designated destination. You can choose.
This selection can be made by appropriately setting the designated destination using the operation unit of the facsimile storage / exchange apparatus 1.

The storage method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In addition, P _{1 to} P _{11 in} FIG.
Indicates each step in the flow.

When the image information is transferred from the facsimile machines of the external lines a _{1 to} a _n or the facsimile machines of the internal lines F _{1 to} F _m , first, in step P ₁ , it is determined whether or not the image is stored by the normal storage method. This determination is performed by the management unit 4c by searching whether or not the designated destination of the transmitted image information is registered in the memory unit 4a, and when the designated destination is not registered, it is stored by the normal storage exchange method. Is executed by step P ₂ . When the designated destination is registered, it is determined to be the storage and exchange method according to the present invention, and in step P ₃ ,
It is determined whether or not there are already files with the same destination. Same destination file is still, when not being created, in step P _4, and creates a job file. In this job file, parameters necessary for executing storage and transmission according to the method of the present invention are registered. In Step P ₅ , the timer of the management unit 4c is set to the designated transmission time, and the value of the number of registered sheets set in advance by the memory capacity or the like is set. In step P ₆ , the image information is stored in the memory 5 and the number of electronic messages is counted, and in step P ₇ , it is determined whether or not the counted number of electronic messages is larger than the registered number. When the count is greater than the number of registered images, in step P _8, multiplied by the start of transmission in the job file, and starts sending entire field information stored in the memory 5, the job file in Step P _9, accumulates message number, the timer Clear the above and return to the start. Therefore, when the number of stored messages reaches the preset number of registered images, the accumulated image information of the specified destination is sent in a batch.
The overflow of the memory 5 can be prevented in advance. Moreover, the image information of the set number of messages can be transmitted all at once, and the number of communications can be reduced. As a result, the transmission cost can be reduced.

In step P _7, transmitted when it does not reach the registration number, in step P _10, a timer set in step P _5, it is determined whether not time over, the job files the time over the process proceeds to step P ₈ is when time-over Start up. In step P _10, when you do not have time over, the process returns to the start. That is, when the transmission to the designated destination is designated at the time, the accumulated electric messages at the designated time of the earliest accumulated electric message are also collectively transmitted. Therefore, it is possible to collectively transmit the electronic messages accumulated after the designated time, and it is possible to sufficiently answer the immediacy of the information and reduce the transmission cost.

Further, in step P _3, the same destination files are in some cases already in step P _11, the image information stored by linking the same destination job file, counts the message number proceeds to step P ₆ . That is, in this case, since the timer is not set, as described above, the timer is set at the designated time of the earliest accumulated electronic message.

The registration number of the above Step P ₅ by operating unit of the facsimile store and forward device 1, can be set for each destination.

Further, in the above embodiment, the transmission is performed based on the number of accumulated messages and the designated time, but it may be performed based on the number of accumulations and the designated time, or based on these three parties.

(Effect) According to the present invention, it is possible to equalize the transmission message amount to a fixed amount determined by the memory capacity and the like, and prevent the memory overflow, thereby reducing the transmission cost and improving the memory usage efficiency. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 3 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the storage and exchange apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the storage and exchange apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a file management unit of the storage exchange apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing its operation. 1 ... Facsimile storage / exchange device, 2 ... communication control device, 3 ... central processing unit, 4 ... file management unit (transmission / reception management means and image information management means), 5 ... memory, 6 ... private branch exchange , 4a …… Memory section, 4b …… Processing section, 4c …… Management section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage exchange apparatus for receiving transmissions from a plurality of terminals, accumulating it in a memory, and then transmitting it to a designated destination. Memory capacity information such as the number of stored telegrams for each designated destination or the number of stored telegram registrations and designation. A transmission / reception management means for registering time information of transmission time and managing transmission / reception for each destination, and an image information management means for linking image information of the same destination and accumulating in the memory to manage the image information are provided. A storage / exchange device, wherein when the capacity information reaches a predetermined value or when a designated transmission time is reached, all the image information stored in the memory is transmitted to the designated destination.