JPH08149269A - Facsimile information transmission system and equipment for the system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a facsimile information transmission system and its equipment by simplifying the dialing in the case of facsimile communication and sending transmission information through the calling of an opposite party facsimile equipment without an error. CONSTITUTION: The facsimile equipment is provided with a card read mechanism 21 reading a card 23 on which a called party facsimile number or data to command transmission information to be sent to a called destination and with a message memory. In the case of facsimile transmission, the card read mechanism 21 reads data of the card and calls a destination facsimile equipment by the automatic dial operation to send transmission information automatically. Thus, the dialing is simplified and the operation such as setting of an original and read starting is simplified and the handling is made easy.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information transmission system by facsimile and its apparatus, and in particular, records the facsimile number of the other party on a card and makes it read by a card reading mechanism to transmit and transmit necessary transmission information. The present invention relates to a system and a facsimile machine that are capable of performing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been a remarkable spread and improvement in performance of facsimile machines.
Facsimile is also widely used for general household use. In the conventional example of such a facsimile, when performing facsimile communication, the other party's telephone number is entered by pressing a button or the abbreviated telephone number is operated to call the other party's facsimile, and then the original is read by the original reading section. It is designed so that it can be read and a facsimile message sent.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional facsimile apparatus, although there is certainty of transmission by sending a message to be transmitted to the facsimile of the other side by image data, facsimile communication is possible. There is a problem that the operation when performing is troublesome. In particular, in recent years, with regard to the care of the elderly, various elderly people have been provided with a facsimile device at their home or at their hands, such as providing meals, cleaning the room, talking with them, and appealing based on changes in physical condition. There is an idea that the request is received by facsimile communication and the service is provided. In such a case, in the case where the old man lives alone, each person must operate the facsimile device himself to dial the appropriate destination, set the original, and send it. In addition to the complicated operation, there is a problem that an error is likely to occur during dial operation, for example.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile which, in facsimile communication, has a simple dialing operation and is capable of calling a facsimile on the other side to send transmission information without error. An object is to provide an information transmission system and its device.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image reading unit, a data compression unit for encoding the read image data, and a data decompression unit for decoding the received image data. And a communication control unit for transmitting and receiving image signals to and from a communication line, a network control unit controlled by the communication control unit for dialing and receiving operations with the communication line, and a facsimile including a system control unit. The gist of the present invention is that the apparatus is provided with a card reading mechanism for reading a card in which facsimile number data of a call destination is recorded.

[0006] In another aspect of the present invention, a storage means for storing transmission information is further provided, and in addition to the facsimile number data of the call destination, data indicating transmission information related to the card is stored in the card. The point is that the card is read out and the card reading mechanism reads both data for automatic transmission and automatic transmission of a message.

[0007]

According to the present invention, with the above-mentioned device configuration, when transmitting a facsimile, the card reading mechanism reads the card in which the facsimile number data of the calling party is recorded, and the destination facsimile is called by an automatic dial operation. In addition to this, the card reading mechanism reads the card in which the facsimile number data of the call destination and the data for instructing the transmission information related to the card are recorded to call the destination facsimile by the automatic dial operation. At the same time, the transmission information instructed by the instruction data in the card is automatically sent to the destination facsimile.
This simplifies the dial operation and simplifies the operations such as document setting and reading start, thus facilitating the handling.

[0008]

1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1
Is a main body of the facsimile, 2 is an operation / display unit for operating the facsimile apparatus, 3 is an openable tray in which an original setting unit of an image reading unit (which will be described later) is formed, and 4 is a card insertion unit of a card reading mechanism. Universal groove, 5 is a handset for making a telephone call, 6 is a key button for dial operation on the operation display unit 3, 7 is a display window for displaying operation contents and communication status on the operation display unit 3, and 8 is printed. It is a paper ejection port for ejecting recording paper.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the internal structure of this facsimile apparatus. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 11 is an image reading unit that reads an original to generate image data, and 12 is an image as a memory member that stores and expands the image data read and input by the image reading unit 11 and the received image data. A memory, 13 is a compression processing unit that encodes transmitted image data and performs compression processing, 14 is a decompression processing unit that decodes received image data (encoded) and performs decompression processing, and 15 is decoding An image recording unit that prints out the obtained image data as a hard copy.

Further, reference numeral 16 is a communication control section for controlling transmission / reception operations for carrying out facsimile communication and realizing facsimile transmission in accordance with a predetermined transmission control procedure. Reference numeral 17 is for modulating coded image data for image data transmission, And a modem for performing demodulation processing, 18 is a network control unit having an automatic transmission function, and performing dial transmission or reception operation for establishing communication with the communication line 19, and 20 is operation of the entire facsimile apparatus according to this embodiment. Is a system control unit for controlling the. Further, reference numeral 21 is provided in the facsimile apparatus according to this embodiment, and a card reader as a card reading mechanism having the card insertion groove 4 is provided. Reference numeral 22 is a message memory provided in the facsimile apparatus according to this embodiment. Reference numeral 23 denotes a card which is inserted into the card insertion groove 4 of the card reader 21 and is operated to read data. Reference numeral 2 denotes the operation display unit already described, which is provided with various keys 6 and a display window 7 for setting various modes for operating the facsimile.

The message memory 22 stores various messages as transmission information to be sent from the facsimile apparatus according to this embodiment to the communication destination facsimile apparatus. The card 23 also stores a telephone number of a communication partner and instruction data for instructing various messages stored in the message memory.

The messages stored in the message memory 22 are, for example, those shown in FIG. That is, the internal area of the message memory 22 is
Columns representing the message items 22a of (1), (2), (3), ..., (n) and columns representing the contents of the message 22b corresponding to each message item are defined. ) Send me a menu table for tomorrow's meals. (2) Please contact the person in charge of care who will talk to you. (3) I am not feeling well, so please call your doctor. (4) I have run out of medication, so please send it.・ ・ ・ ・ (N) ……………………………… and so on.

On the other hand, a plurality of cards 23 are prepared according to each need or application. For example, in light of the message items stored in the message memory 22, one card corresponding to the message (1) is prepared, and one card corresponding to the other message is prepared. To be done. Looking at the card corresponding to the requirement of (1),
As shown in FIG. 4, this card stores, in the message memory 22, the telephone number data of a meal producer who contracts as a communication partner telephone number 25, such as a meal center, and a message to be sent to this meal center. Necessary data such as instruction data 26 for instructing and ID number 27 of the owner of this card are recorded. The same applies to the card 23 used for other purposes. Looking at the card corresponding to the requirement of (4), this card has telephone number data 2
Telephone number of the pharmacy contracted as 5, instruction data 26 for instructing message (4) in the message memory 22 as instruction data, and ID of the owner of this card
Data such as number 27 is recorded.

The card 23 may have an ID card format or a prepaid card format depending on the requirements. For example, in the above example, the card 23 corresponding to the message item (1) only requests a menu of meals, so that it does not normally cost. Therefore, as the card corresponding to this matter, a card in which the communication partner telephone number 25 and the instruction data 26 as needed are recorded is used. On the other hand, for example, in the above example, since the card 23 corresponding to the requirement item (2) requests the business trip service of the care worker, it is usually charged.
As a card corresponding to such a matter, a so-called prepaid card format in which a point corresponding to a certain amount of money is recorded in advance in addition to a communication partner telephone number 25 and instruction data 26 as necessary is used. . Then, this card is sold out, and points are deducted by the amount of money determined every time the card user uses the card. It should be noted that the payment of the cost may be performed by the prepaid card method as described above, but other methods such as cash payment and bank transfer are also available.

As described above, the facsimile machine is provided with the prepaid card processing unit 30 in case the card 23 of the prepaid card type is used. Then, when the prepaid card is inserted into the card reader 21, the prepaid card processing unit 30 counts the points of the prepaid card and performs a processing operation of subtracting the corresponding fee.

In this embodiment, the image reading section 11 is
For example, a CCD image sensor for converting an optical signal obtained by reading a document into an electric signal is provided. A page memory, for example, is used as the image memory 12, and the image data read and input by the image reading unit 11 is stored and expanded in page units. A CPU is used in the system control unit 20 to execute various operations such as transmission / reception operation and data processing at high speed.

The operation of the facsimile apparatus having such a configuration will be described below. In a normal facsimile transmission / reception operation, an operator of a transmission side facsimile device (hereinafter referred to as a transmission terminal) opens a tray, sets a document on the image reading section 11, and presses a key button 6 from the operation display section 2. Similarly, after inputting the destination telephone number, when the operation display unit 2 is instructed to start transmission, the system control unit 20
Transfers the input destination telephone number to the communication control unit 16 and gives an instruction to call the destination. As a result, the communication control unit 1
6 transfers the destination telephone number to the network control unit 18 to call the destination.

When the destination is called and the communication line 19 is established, facsimile communication is executed according to the procedure of the time sequence shown in FIG. That is, first, a calling tone, that is, CNG, representing the calling non-voice terminal is transmitted from the transmitting terminal. In response to this, the destination facsimile machine (hereinafter referred to as the receiving terminal) sends a CED which is the called terminal identification signal to the sending terminal, and the called terminal subsequently has a standard receiving function. (A digital identification signal) indicating that the CSI (a called terminal identification signal) that indicates the called terminal by an international telephone number, and an NSF (a non-standard function identification signal) that is a transmission function display signal of the receiving terminal are transmitted. .

When the transmitting terminal receives each of the above signals, the transmitting terminal controls the transmitting terminal by NSS (non-standard function setting signal) which is a command signal indicating a function to be set among the non-standard functions displayed by the NSF signal. DCS (digital command signal), which is a command signal indicating a function set from the standard functions displayed by the TSI (transmission terminal identification signal) and the DIS signal to be displayed, is transmitted to the reception terminal. In addition, the sending terminal may use the TCF to check the training of the modem 17.
(Training check signal) is output to the receiving terminal, and the receiving terminal receives this and sends back a CFR (reception preparation confirmation signal).

As a result, image information can be transmitted and received between both terminals, and the image information PIX, which is a facsimile message, is sent from the transmitting terminal to the receiving terminal. When the transmission of one unit (for example, one page) of the image information PIX is completed, the sending terminal outputs MPS (multi-page signal) indicating the end of the page of the facsimile message, and the receiving terminal receiving the message outputs the message. An MCF (Message Acknowledgment Signal) is returned to indicate complete reception. Then, the image information PIX is subsequently sent from the transmitting terminal. Hereinafter, the above operation is repeated until all the image information is transmitted.

When all the image information PIX has been sent, the sending terminal shows the end of the page of the facsimile message and E indicating that there is no other sending document.
OP (procedure end signal) is output, the MCF is returned from the receiving terminal which receives this, and the transmitting terminal outputs DCN (disconnection command signal) indicating the end of operation and requiring no response. As a result, the communication line 19 is disconnected in each of the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal.

Next, the processing operation when making a call using the card 23 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the processing procedure in this calling operation. In this operation, when the facsimile machine is powered on, a processing step (hereinafter simply referred to as a step)
In ST1, the system control unit 2 of the facsimile device
0 indicates a waiting state for transmission and reception. Then, it is checked whether or not the card reader 21 is turned on (step ST2). If the card reader 21 is not turned on, the standby state and the on-state check are repeated by returning to the previous standby state (step ST1).

Here, when the facsimile user inserts the handheld card 23 into the card insertion groove 4 of the card reader 21, the card reader 21 is turned on. When the card reader 21 is turned on, the system control unit 20 checks whether or not the data of the card 23 has been read correctly (step ST3). If the data has not been read correctly, the system controller 20 waits for the previous state (step ST1). On the other hand, if the reading is performed correctly, it is checked whether or not there is a member code in the read data (step ST4). In the check process of step ST4, if there is a member code, the calling operation is continued, and the facsimile user is informed that the service request is accepted using the operation display unit 2. As a result, the operation display unit 2
A message "Please press the service button" is displayed on the display window 7 of (step ST5), and subsequently, the system control unit 20 checks whether the service button is turned on (step ST6), and turns on. If so, perform off-hook operation of the telephone (step ST
7) The registered telephone number 25 of the communication destination is dialed from the card read data (step ST8).

While the receiving terminal is called by the dial operation, the system control unit 20 checks whether or not there is an incoming call to the other party (step ST9), and if there is an incoming call, it is registered from the card reading data. The ID is taken out and ID verification communication is performed (step ST10).
After that, the message "Please press the FAX start button" is displayed to the facsimile user to start the facsimile operation start using the operation display unit 2 (step ST11), and the communication loop is turned off. Check whether or not (step S
T12). Then, when the facsimile user presses the start button of the FAX, if the loop is turned off, the on-hook operation is performed (step ST13), and the facsimile communication operation is performed (step ST14). ST1).

In the process of checking whether or not the member code is present (step ST4), if there is no member code, it is checked whether or not the facsimile user needs the registration code (step ST15). If not, the process returns to the standby state (step ST1), while if the registration code is required, the operation display unit 2
Is used to display the message "Please press the registration button" (step ST16), and it is checked whether or not the registration button is turned on (step ST17).
If turned on, the registration processing operation is performed (step ST1
8) After that, it returns to the standby state (step ST1).

In addition, in the process of checking whether or not there is an incoming call at the other party (step ST9), if there is no incoming call,
It is checked whether or not the time has expired due to the passage of a preset time (step ST19), and if the time has not expired, the time over is repeatedly checked. Not responding ... "is displayed (step ST20), the on-hook operation is performed (step ST21), and then the operation returns to the standby state (step ST1).

Now, the facsimile communication operation in step ST14 will be described in more detail. When facsimile communication is started (steps ST11 and 12) by receiving a call to the other party (step ST9) and pressing the FAX start button (steps ST11 and ST12), FIG. Facsimile transmission / reception is performed according to the operation procedure described with reference to FIG.
In this case, the card 23 has the cardholder ID 2
7 and the data of the communication destination telephone number 25 are recorded, and the message is not stored in the message memory 22 of the facsimile apparatus, and the facsimile message is of the method described in the manuscript paper. ,
Documents are set in the document setting unit with the tray 3 of the facsimile apparatus opened, and the originals are sent to the image reading unit 11 one by one in accordance with the facsimile transmission operation, and the facsimile message is transmitted.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the card owner ID 27 and the communication partner telephone number 25 are recorded on the card 23, and the message instruction data 26 is recorded on the card 23. Further, the message instruction 22 is stored in the message memory 22 of the facsimile apparatus. When the item 22a designated by the data 26 and its message 22b are stored and the facsimile communication system is a system for automatically reading and transmitting a facsimile message from the message memory 22, the process shown in FIG. The action is executed. In the processing operation in this case, when the data of the card 23 is read by the card reader 21, automatic dial operation and automatic message transmission are performed. Therefore, the FAX start button pressing display and the facsimile communication start check processing (step ST11, 12) is unnecessary and these processes are omitted.

Then, the system control unit 20 reads a message from the card read data as in the case of the above-mentioned reading and dialing of the communication partner telephone number 25 (step ST8) and ID reading and collation communication processing (step ST10). The instruction data 26 is read (step ST22). Then, this message instruction data 26
The message memory 22 is searched based on (step S
(T23), the corresponding number is selected from the item 22a of the message memory 22 and the message 22b is read out, and this message is expanded in the image memory 12 as image data (step ST24). Then, in the FAX message transmission operation in the facsimile communication procedure (FIG. 5), the message 22b is read from the image memory 12, transferred to the communication control unit 16, and sent out onto the communication line 19 through the modem 17 (step ST25). As a result, a required message (transmission information) is automatically sent to a predetermined communication partner.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The facsimile device for image communication is provided with a card reading mechanism for reading a card in which the facsimile number data of the callee is recorded, and in another aspect, since it is further provided with a storage means for storing transmission information, when transmitting a facsimile,
By simply causing the card reading mechanism to read the card in which the facsimile number data of the callee is recorded, the facsimile of the other party can be called by an automatic dial operation.

Further, in addition to the facsimile number data of the calling destination, data for instructing transmission information to be sent to the calling destination is recorded on the card, and the card reading mechanism reads both data and automatically sends the data. Since the message is automatically transmitted, the transmission information instructed by the instruction data in the card is automatically sent to the destination facsimile in addition to the automatic dial operation. As a result, various effects can be obtained such that the dial operation is simplified and the operations such as document setting and reading start are simplified and the handling is easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an external configuration of an embodiment of a facsimile apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration inside the device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a format diagram showing a recording state of the message memory of the above embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a data structure diagram for explaining the contents recorded on the card in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a time sequence diagram for explaining a communication processing procedure of the facsimile apparatus in the above embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure from a card reading operation to a calling operation of the facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of a message automatic transmission operation based on card reading of the facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Facsimile Main Body 2 Operation Display Section 3 Tray 4 Card Insertion Groove 5 Handset 6 Key Button 7 Display Window 8 Paper Ejection Port 11 Image Reading Section 12 Image Memory 13 Compression Processing Section 14 Expansion Processing Section 15 Image Recording Section 16 Communication Control Section 17 Modem 18 Network control unit 19 Communication line 20 System control unit 21 Card reader (card reading mechanism) 22 Message memory 23 Card 25 Communication destination telephone number 26 Message instruction data 27 Card owner ID 30 Prepaid card processing unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A facsimile apparatus is provided with a card reading mechanism, and the destination facsimile is called by dial operation by making the card reading mechanism read a card recording facsimile number data of a calling party. Information transmission system by facsimile. 2. A facsimile device is provided with a card reading mechanism and storage means for storing transmission information, and the card reading mechanism records facsimile number data of a callee and data indicating transmission information relating to the card. An information transmission system by facsimile, characterized in that by reading the card, the other party's facsimile is called by dial operation and predetermined transmission information is sent to the other party's facsimile. 3. The information transmission system by facsimile according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a prepaid card type card is used as the card. 4. An image reading unit, a data compression unit that encodes the read image data, a data decompression unit that decodes the received image data, and communication control that sends and receives an image signal to and from a communication line. Section, a network control section which is controlled by the communication control section and performs dial transmission and reception operations between the communication line, a card reading mechanism, and a system control section which controls each of the functional sections during facsimile operation, The card reading mechanism reads the card in which the facsimile number data of the call destination is recorded, and the system control unit causes the network control unit to dial based on the number data read by the card reading mechanism. apparatus. 5. A transmission information storage means is provided, and based on a card reading operation by a card reading mechanism, corresponding information is read out from the transmission information storage means and the transmission information is sent to a facsimile of the called party. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 3.