JPH08223346A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain facsimile equipment capable of communicating with a conventional telephone set or the like and with a different medium by using a main control section to control a data flow and controlling the communication with a communication protocol in response to the kinds of data. CONSTITUTION: A main control section 11 controls a data flow of voice data outputted from a voice processing section 22, image data generated by an image processing section 19, and text data received by a personal computer interface section 16 according to an instruction of a display/operation section 12. A control means control section 27 conducts communication control with a prescribed protocol in response to the kinds of data via a modem 26 and a network control unit 25 and sends the voice data, image data and text data to a communication line 24. Thus, data communication with another form such as data transmission and text data with a conventional telephone set and facsimile equipment are attained. Furthermore, a file storage section 13 and a file management section 14 are provided to manage the data as files.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine, and more particularly to a facsimile machine for realizing the transfer of data of different media.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A facsimile apparatus is an apparatus mainly for image communication, which converts an image into image data by using a scanner and transmits the image data, and reproduces the image from the received image data by using a printer. . Usually, this type of facsimile apparatus has a voice communication function (telephone function).

In recent years, image data received by a facsimile machine is directly taken into a personal computer (hereinafter abbreviated as PC), an image reproduced from the image data is displayed on a display, the image is processed or modified, or , Facsimile apparatuses equipped with a PC-compatible interface have been developed in order to enable transmission of an image produced by the PC to another facsimile apparatus or a PC connected thereto. Further, there is one provided with an interface corresponding to an external memory device in order to manage image data on a PC. Such a facsimile machine is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-54106.
No., published in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.

[0004]

However, in the conventional facsimile apparatus, even if the PC can be connected,
Since it is not possible to distinguish between image data and binary data other than image data, text data, etc., data other than image data from the PC, such as text data, cannot be transmitted. Therefore, when transmitting text data or the like from a PC connected to a facsimile device to another PC, a text data communication device must be connected, resulting in a redundant configuration.

In addition, many of the recent telephones have an answering machine function and a message function. However, even if such a function is provided, the voice data and the image data cannot be distinguished from each other. Therefore, the voice communication device is used. There is a problem that it is necessary to provide.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-110384 discloses a multimedia mail device which can handle data of a plurality of media types such as voice data, image data, graphic data and text data. In such a mail device, the communication partner must also be a similar device, and the telephone that is already widely used in the general public,
Also, there is a problem that communication with the facsimile device cannot be performed.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus which can communicate with conventional telephones and facsimiles and can communicate with different media such as voice, image and text.

[0008]

According to the present invention, an image data generating means for generating image data from an original image, a PC interface section for connecting a personal computer, and a communication protocol according to the type of data are used. A communication control unit for controlling communication, a network control unit connected to the communication control unit and a communication line, a data control unit connected to the image data generating means, the PC interface unit, and the communication control unit. And a display / operation unit 12 for inputting and displaying information necessary for controlling the data flow, and the image data and text data input from the personal computer to the PC interface. Any of the above data can be sent to the communication line Facsimile device that will be obtained.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided image reproduction means for reproducing an image from image data and text / image conversion means for converting text data into image data, which are transmitted via the communication line. A facsimile machine is obtained which is capable of receiving both image data and text data.

Further, according to the present invention, the main control section has a file storage section for storing filed data and a file management section for storing predetermined information on the filed data. A facsimile machine is obtained in which the image data and the text data are made into a file and stored in the file storage unit, the predetermined information is prepared and stored in the file management unit.

[0011]

In the facsimile apparatus of the present invention, data based on different media such as voice, text and image, and attribute information of these data are made into files. For data transmission, the communication method is determined by the communication partner, and communication is performed in each media type or file state.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. The facsimile apparatus according to the present embodiment stores a main control unit 11 that controls each unit, a display unit that displays the state of the apparatus, a display / operation unit 12 that includes operation keys and a touch panel, and a data file. A file storage unit 13 for storing, a file management unit 14 for storing attribute information of each data file,
PC interface (I / F) unit 1 for performing interface control with a personal computer (PC) 15
6, a scanner 17 for reading an image, a printer 18 for printing and reproducing an image, an image processing unit 19 for encoding an image signal from the scanner 17, decoding image data to the printer, and scaling, and a call. Handset 20 for performing, digital signal processor (DSP) 2 for A / D and D / A conversion of audio signals
1. A voice processing unit 22 for compressing / decompressing a digital voice signal, a media interface (I / F) unit 23 for controlling the interface between the image processing unit 19 and the voice processing unit 22, and a network control unit connected to a communication line 24. (NCU) 25, modem 26 for converting voice / binary signal, communication control unit 2 for controlling communication protocol
7 and a communication control interface (I / F) unit 28 that controls the interface of the communication control unit 27.

The operation of this facsimile apparatus will be described below. First, a filing operation for filing and collectively managing voice data based on voice, image data based on images, and text data used in a PC will be described.

When the voice data, the image data, and the text data are filed, a command for instructing each data to be filed is first input to the display / operation unit 12. According to this command, the main control unit 11 controls each unit so as to convert each data into a file. The filing operation for each data will be described below.

When converting the voice data into a file, the voice signal from the handset 20 is input to the DSP 21. Alternatively, the voice signal transmitted via the communication line 24 and the NCU 25 is input to the DSP 21. DSP
Reference numeral 21 A / D-converts the input voice signal and outputs the digital voice signal to the voice signal processing unit 22.

The audio processing section 22 is capable of performing compression processing by a plurality of audio compression methods. For example, PCM system, AD
The compression processing can be performed by a conventionally known method such as M method and ADPCM, or an original method. Main controller 1
1 is the media I so that the audio processing is performed by the audio compression method specified by the audio data filing command.
The voice processing unit 22 is controlled via the / F unit 23. Under the control of the main control unit 11, the audio processing unit 22 selects one from a plurality of audio compression methods, compresses the digital audio signal, and creates audio data. And the main controller 11
Stores the voice data output from the voice processing unit 22 in the file storage unit 13 as a file. At the same time, the main control unit 11 stores, in the file management unit 14, attribute information that the file is audio data, audio compression method type information, and the like. This completes the conversion of the audio data into a file.

Next, the file formation of image data will be described. The image signal obtained by scanning the image with the scanner 17 is input to the image processing unit 19. The image processing unit 19 can perform compression encoding with a plurality of encoding methods, and can also perform scaling by selecting from a plurality of scalers. As the compression code, a conventionally known method such as an MR method, an MH method, an MMR method, or an original method can be used.

The image processing unit 19 compression-encodes the image signal in accordance with the compression encoding method and scaler designated by the main control unit 11 via the media I / F unit 23 to create image data. Then, the main control unit 11
The obtained image data is stored in the file storage unit 13 as a file, and at the same time, information such as attribute information indicating that the file is image data, encoding type, and scaler type is stored in the file management unit 14. To do.

The image data transmitted via the communication line 24 is controlled by the main control unit 11 and the modem 26.
Is reproduced as a binary signal by the communication control unit 27 and the communication control I.
It is stored in the file storage unit 13 via the / F unit 28.
At the same time, attribute information indicating that the file is image data and information such as the code type are stored in the file management unit 14. The information such as the code type can be obtained by the communication protocol control performed by the communication control unit 27 at the start of communication. Further, the text data transmitted via the communication line 24 is stored in the file storage unit 13 similarly to the image data, and the attribute information indicating that the file is text data is stored in the file management unit 14. To be done.

The text data from the PC 15 is PCI
The data is taken into the device via the / F unit 16 and the main control unit 1
It is stored in the file storage unit 13 under the control of 1. Further, like other data, attribute information indicating that this file is text data is stored in the file management unit 14. If the PC can handle voice data or image data, these data input from the PC can be stored in the file storage unit 1 in the same manner as text data.
Accumulated in 3.

When the text data received from the communication line 24 is converted into a file, the main control unit 11 causes the NCU 2
5, modem 26, communication control unit 27, and communication control I / F
The file is stored in the file storage unit 13 via the unit 28. Then, the main control unit 11 stores attribute information indicating that this file is text data in the file management unit 14.

As described above, in the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment, the voice data, the image data, and the text data can be collectively managed.

Next, the file storage unit 1 is operated as described above.
The output operation of each data stored in 3 will be described.
First, the audio data will be described. Display / operation unit 12
To the handset 20 or the communication line 24, or from a telephone or the like connected to the communication line to the communication line 2
4 is instructed, the main control unit 11 extracts the audio data from the file storage unit 13 and outputs the media I / F.
It is output to the voice processing unit 22 via 23. Further, the main control unit 11 extracts the attribute information and compression method information corresponding to the extracted audio data from the file management unit 14, and controls the audio processing unit 22 based on the information. The audio processing unit 22 expands the input audio data and restores the audio signal under the control of the main control unit. The restored audio signal is input to the DSP 21 and converted into an analog audio signal. When the output destination is the handset 20, an analog audio signal is supplied to the handset 20,
Converted to voice. When the output destination is the communication line 24, the data is output to the communication line 24 via the NCU 25.

When the image data is output to the printer 18, it operates as follows. In response to the instruction from the display / operation unit 12, the main control device 11 takes out the image data from the file storage unit 13 and passes the image data to the image processing unit 19 via the media I / F unit 23. Then, the main controller 11 includes the file management unit 1
The image processing unit 19 is controlled to decompress and decode the image data according to the type of the compression coding method and the type of the scaler extracted from No. 4. Image processing unit 1
The image signal output from 9 is output to the printer 18, and the printer reproduces and prints the image.

When text data is output to the printer 18, it is similar to the case of image data, but if the text data is given to the printer 18 as it is, the printer 18 cannot handle it. Therefore, the main control unit 11 issues an instruction to the image processing unit 19 to convert the text data read from the file storage unit 13 into image data. The image processing unit 19 converts the text data input via the media I / F unit 23 into image data according to an instruction from the main control unit 11, and outputs the image data to the printer 18. In this way, the text data is printed out by the printer 18.

When there is a request from the PC 15, the main control unit 11 reads out the data stored in the file storage unit 13 and transfers it to the personal computer 5 via the PCI I / F unit 16. Depending on the ability of the PC,
This transfer is possible even for image data and audio data. When the PC requests image data or audio data, it may be transferred after performing processing such as re-encoding, depending on the capability of the PC.

Next, the case where the data stored in the file storage unit 13 is transmitted to another device via the communication line 24 will be described. Generally, in a fax machine,
When the line is connected to the partner device, the communication method is adjusted so that the partner terminal can receive the data correctly. In the case of this device, similarly, after the line is connected to the partner terminal, the communication method is matched. However,
If the partner device is a telephone, a signal indicating that the device is a non-telephone cannot be obtained, so that the communication methods are not matched.

The matching operation of the communication system will be described in detail. When receiving a data transmission instruction from the main control unit 11, the communication control unit 27 instructs the NCU 25 to connect the line. NCU25
In response to the line connection instruction from the communication control unit 27, the call is generated and the partner terminal is called. The other terminal that received the call
Information indicating the capability of the own device is transmitted to the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment. As a result, the communication control unit 27 recognizes the capability of the partner terminal and determines whether it is possible to transmit in a file format, image data, or text data. Also, the encoding method used,
It also recognizes the capabilities of the other terminal, such as transmission speed. The communication control unit 27 uses the recognized capability of the partner terminal as the main control unit 1.
Notify 1.

When the file is to be output in the form of a file, the main control unit 11 outputs the file as it is or, if it is image data, re-encoding and re-scaling, depending on the capability of the partner device, and If it ’s data,
Determine whether to perform phase compression coding. When the file is sent as it is, the file stored in the file storage unit 13, the attribute information stored in the file management unit 14 and the information such as the type of the compression coding method are read and output to the communication control unit 27. . The communication control unit 27 sends the data in the form of a file and the information indicating the type thereof according to a predetermined protocol through the communication line 2 via the modem 26 and the NCU 25.
It sends to 4.

Further, even if the partner terminal can receive the data in the file format, if there is a difference in the encoding system, the control device 11 controls the voice data according to the function of the partner device. , Recompression of image data (re-encoding,
The audio processing unit 22 or the image processing unit 19 is controlled so as to perform (rescaling). Then, the main control unit 11 converts the recompressed audio data and image data into a file and outputs the file to the communication control unit 27. Then, the communication control unit 27 transfers the file to the communication line 2 as described above.
It sends to 4.

When transmitting in the form of image data, the main control unit 11 confirms that the data to be transmitted is image data based on the information read from the file management unit 14, and at the same time, the compression encoding method. Type of
It is determined whether the scaler type is suitable for the capability of the other terminal.

If the compression coding system and the scaler are suitable for the capability of the other terminal, the image data can be sent as it is. In this case, the main control unit 11 passes the image data to the communication control unit 27 via the communication control I / F 28. The communication control unit 27 uses the communication protocol for the image data to receive the received image data by the modem 26.
And to the communication line 24 via the NCU 25. On the other hand, if the compression coding method and the scaler are not suitable for the capability of the partner terminal, the image data cannot be sent as it is, so the main control unit 11 selects the coding method and the scaler corresponding to the stress of the partner terminal. , Image processing unit 1
9 is instructed to re-encode. The re-encoded image data is output to the communication line 24 through the communication control I / F unit 28, the communication control unit 27, the modem 26, and the NCU 25.

When transmitting in the form of text data, the communication controller 27 sends the text data to the modem 26 and the NCU according to the text data communication protocol.
It is sent to the communication line 24 via 25.

When decoding the voice data and transmitting it as a voice signal, the main control unit 11 transfers the voice data from the file storage unit 13 to the file management unit 14 as described above.
The attribute information and the compression method information are extracted from and are supplied to the audio processing unit 22. The voice processing unit 22 restores the voice signal, and the restored voice signal is output to the communication line 24 via the DSP 21 and the NCU 25.

In this way, each data stored in the file storage unit 13 is output to an output destination that can correspond to the data. As a result, the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment can realize various functions such as an answering machine function, a message board function, a transfer function, a memory communication function, and a copy function.

In the case where the data transmitted from the partner terminal is received and filed, contrary to the case of transmission,
After the NCU 25 receives the call and establishes the line connection, the communication control unit 27 notifies the partner terminal of the capability of the present apparatus to match the communication mode. When the partner terminal has the same capability as this device and transmits data in a file format, the main control unit 11 causes the received data file and the attribute information to be stored in the file storage unit 13 and the file management unit 14, respectively. NCU 25, modem 26, communication control unit 27,
And the communication control I / F unit 28. When the partner terminal is a telephone, a conventional facsimile machine, and a PC, the file storage unit 1 is used as described above.
Filed in 3.

The facsimile apparatus according to the present invention can also perform normal FAX transmission / reception, PC transmission without the above file conversion.
It is possible to send image data from a PC, output image data or text data from a PC to a printer, and perform normal voice communication.

That is, in the display / operation unit 12, a normal FAX is
When the mode is selected, the main control unit 11 detects that a document is set on the scanner 17 and starts the FAX transmission operation. When the destination is entered, NCU2
5 connects the line. The communication control unit 27 adjusts the communication method and notifies the main control unit 11 of the capability of the partner terminal.
Upon receiving the notification from the communication control unit 27, the main control unit 11 instructs the image processing unit 19 on the encoding method. The document image read by the scanner is encoded by the image processing unit 19, and the communication control I / F unit 28, the communication control unit 27, and the modem 2 are encoded.
6 and the NCU 25 to the communication line 24.

When the image data is received in the normal FAX mode, the main control unit 11 selects the composite method corresponding to the encoding method notified when the communication modes are matched. The image processing unit 19 is controlled.
The image data received from the communication line 24 through the NCU 25, the modem 26, the communication control unit 27, and the communication control I / F unit 28 is decoded by the image processing unit 7 and output to the printer 8.

When the PC sends a FAX transmission request, the main control unit 11 instructs the NCU 25 to connect the line and the communication control unit 27 to adjust the communication form. Then, the main control unit 11 instructs the image processing unit 19 to select the scaler based on the linear density, the recording paper size information, etc. notified from the communication control unit 27 and, if necessary, the re-encoding. The scaled image data is output to the communication line 24 through the communication control I / F unit 28, the communication control unit 27, the modem 26, and the NCU 25.

When there is a request from the PC 15 to print out the image data, the main controller 11 causes the media I / O
The image processing unit 7 is controlled to select the scaler through the F unit 23. The image data from the PC 15 is scaled by the image processing unit 19 and output to the printer 18. Further, when there is a request to print out the text data, the main control unit 11 instructs the image processing unit 19 to perform text-image conversion, and the image processing unit 19 outputs the data converted into the image data to the printer. To do.

When making a normal call, the main control section 11
The communication line 24 detects that the handset 20 is in the off-hook state and outputs the voice input to the handset 20 to the communication line 24 through the NCU 25.
It controls so that the voice input from the above is input to the handset 12 through the NCU 16. Further, when an instruction is given from the display / operation unit 12, the main control unit 1 controls the voice processing unit 10 and the digital signal processor 11 to store the conversation at this time in the file storage unit 13 as voice data. You can also do it.

[0043]

According to the present invention, by providing a communication control unit for controlling communication with a communication protocol according to the type of data, it is possible to perform data transmission with a conventional facsimile machine, but to transmit text data. Other forms of data communication can be performed.

Also, data of different media such as voice, text, and image is converted into files, and predetermined information indicating attributes of these data is created and stored in the file storage unit and the file management unit, respectively. By doing so, the data can be managed without depending on the media.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 main control unit 12 display / operation unit 13 file storage unit 14 file management unit 15 personal computer (PC) 16 PC interface (I / F) unit 17 scanner 18 printer 19 image processing unit 20 handset 21 digital signal processor (DSP) 22 Audio processing unit 23 Media interface (I / F) unit 24 Communication line 25 Network control unit (NC
U) 26 modem 27 communication control unit 28 communication control interface (I / F) unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image data generation means for generating image data from a document image, a PC interface section for connecting a personal computer, a communication control section for controlling communication by a communication protocol according to the type of data, and A network control unit connected to the communication control unit and the communication line, the image data generating unit, the PC interface unit, and a main control unit connected to the communication control unit for controlling the data flow; A display / operation unit 12 for inputting and displaying information necessary for control is provided, and both the image data and text data input from the personal computer to the PC interface are sent to the communication line. Facsimile machine characterized by being made possible. 2. Image data and text data transmitted via the communication line, comprising image reproduction means for reproducing an image from image data and text / image conversion means for converting text data into image data. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein any of the above data can be received. 3. A file storage unit for storing filed data, and a file management unit for storing predetermined information about the filed data, wherein the main control unit includes the image data and the text. 3. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data and the data are converted into a file and stored in the file storage unit, and the predetermined information is created and stored in the file management unit. 4. A voice data generation unit for generating voice data from voice, wherein the main control unit converts the voice data into a file and stores the file in the file storage unit, and creates the predetermined information to generate the file management unit. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the facsimile apparatus is stored in. 5. The communication control unit can send the filed data as it is to the communication line in the form of a file, and can receive the filed data transmitted from the communication line. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: