JPH08293947A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable a remote diagnostic system to efficiently perform correct diagnosis even when a module is changed by providing a means for discriminating module configuration and for transferring the discriminated information to communication modules. CONSTITUTION: A CPU 10 controls whole facsimile equipment by sending a control instruction through a system bus 8 to respective constitution parts. Then, the module configuration in the facsimile equipment is discriminated and discrimination information showing this configuration is prepared. In such a case, this module configuration shows the mounting conditions of G3 and G4 modules for controlling communication or the connection conditions of external equipment such as a printer, for example. Further, the prepared discrimination information is transferred to communication modules 34 and 36. Therefore, at the time of remotely diagnosing the facsimile equipment while using the remote facsimile diagnostic system, the communication modules 34 and 36 can transmit the discrimination information to the system. Thus, the remote diagnostic system can correctly diagnose by selecting a diagnostic program while considering the module configuration of the facsimile equipment.

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 which transmits information about the machine on the basis of a request of a facsimile remote diagnosis system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A facsimile remote diagnosis system capable of investigating and diagnosing the state of a facsimile machine from a remote place has been developed. This diagnostic system uses a floppy disk (hereinafter called "FD") with a diagnostic program written on it.
It is built in a personal computer or the like that constitutes the main body of the diagnostic device, and each facsimile device can be remotely diagnosed via the communication device based on the diagnostic program of this FD.

By the way, in a facsimile machine, the diagnostic method differs depending on the model and the like, so the diagnostic program must be changed.

However, in the case of a facsimile machine which cannot be diagnosed by the set FD diagnostic program, another FD in which another diagnostic program for diagnosing this apparatus is written is searched for and replaced with this FD. Therefore, there is a problem that the diagnosis work becomes complicated. Further, even if different models are used, the same FD can be used for diagnosis, and even if a program for diagnosing only common items is used to deal with the problem, a new problem arises in that accurate diagnosis cannot be performed.

Therefore, as a technique for solving these problems, there is a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-202161. This technique outputs a request to a facsimile machine to be diagnosed for transmitting device identification information such as a program version, model number, and manufacturing number set in the facsimile machine, and the facsimile machine transmitted in response to the request. It receives the device recognition information from the device, reads out a desired diagnostic program for diagnosing the condition of the facsimile device based on the information, and diagnoses the condition of the corresponding facsimile device.

[0006]

In recent years, some high-end facsimile machines take the form of so-called multi-function machines in which not only the function of a single facsimile machine but also a copy function and a printer function are added. This multi-function peripheral has a facsimile function unit, a copy function unit, a printer function unit, and a system control unit for controlling them, and each function unit is modularized. Ready to connect. Therefore, when remotely diagnosing this multi-function peripheral, it is necessary to use a diagnostic means that considers that the module configuration is changed for each communication.

However, the above-mentioned prior art does not have detailed information such as the module configuration as the device recognition information, and further has no means for responding to the case where this module configuration is changed. There is a problem that it cannot be diagnosed correctly.

In consideration of the above facts, the present invention provides a facsimile apparatus in which a remote diagnostic system can efficiently and correctly diagnose even when a module is changed by appropriately creating and transmitting information about a module configuration. To aim.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention as set forth in claim 1 is a facsimile machine which receives a device status diagnosis by a facsimile remote diagnosis system, and a communication for controlling communication with a partner machine. A module and an identification means for identifying the module configuration of this facsimile device and creating identification information indicating this configuration;
Transfer means for transferring the identification information to the communication module.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, when the module configuration is changed, the identifying means identifies the changed module configuration and newly creates identification information. It is characterized by

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the communication module includes a transmission buffer for storing the identification information transferred by the transfer means,
When the identification information is created by the identification means, the transfer means transfers the identification information to the transmission buffers of all the communication modules included in the facsimile apparatus.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the transfer means transfers the identification information to the communication module that has made the transfer request when the transfer request is made from the communication module. Characterize.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the invention, the identifying means identifies the module configuration in the facsimile machine and creates identification information indicating this configuration. The module configuration refers to, for example, the mounting status of G3 and G4 modules that control communication and the connection status of external devices such as printers. Then, the transfer means transfers the created identification information to the communication module. This allows the communication module to send this identification information to the system when the facsimile remote diagnostic system remotely diagnoses the facsimile machine. Therefore, the remote diagnostic system can select a diagnostic program in consideration of the module configuration of the facsimile machine, and can make an accurate diagnosis. Moreover, since it is not necessary to check the module configuration, the working efficiency of the diagnostic system is improved.

According to the invention of claim 2, when the module configuration of the facsimile apparatus is changed, the identifying means identifies the changed module configuration and newly creates identification information. Then, this new identification information is transferred to the communication module by the transfer means. As a result, the remote diagnosis system can accurately diagnose the facsimile machine after the module configuration is changed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the transfer means transfers the identification information to the transmission buffers of all the communication modules of the facsimile machine when the identification information is created by the identification means. As a result, the remote diagnosis system can immediately obtain the identification information regardless of which communication module is accessed, and can make a quick diagnosis.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the transfer means transfers the identification information to the communication module that has requested the transfer when the transfer request is issued from the communication module.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a facsimile apparatus according to this embodiment.

The system bus 8 is a bus for transmitting and receiving data and transmitting control commands between the constituent parts of the facsimile machine.

The CPU 10 is a control circuit for controlling the entire facsimile apparatus by sending a control command to each component via the system bus 26. The CPU 10
Is the program R when the power of this facsimile is turned on.
The program is read from the OM 32, and control is performed based on this program.

The RAM 12 is a volatile memory used as a work area for the CPU 10.

The operation display device 14 is composed of a so-called touch panel and is an input means for inputting a command to the device by touching the panel or the like.

The reading device 16 is a device that scans a transmission document or a copy document while irradiating it with white light, and converts the intensity of the reflected light into a digital image.

The printing device 18 is a device for printing out a received image or the like on recording paper or the like. The external I / F (interface) control device 20 is an interface circuit that controls data transmission / reception with an external device 24 such as a workstation, a personal computer, or a printer.
The data transfer time can be shortened by using, for example, SCSI as the interface with the external device 24.

The image processing device 28 is a device for encoding transmission data and decoding reception data. Further, the image processing device 28 can also enlarge or reduce the transmission / reception data.

The storage device 30 is a storage device for storing the digital image data read by the reading device 16 and the received data for each file.

The program ROM 32 is a non-volatile memory for storing a control program for the CPU 10.

Communication module 34 and communication module 3
A module 6 controls communication (G3, G4, etc.) of the facsimile apparatus. In addition to the communication means, this module is composed of a CPU for controlling the module, a ROM for storing a program, a RAM for working and storing transmission / reception data (not shown).

Next, the processing of the facsimile apparatus according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 shows a format example of the identification information code. Here, the identification information means information about a module in the facsimile machine, and the identification information code means a coded version of this information.

According to FIG. 2, bit 0 of the identification information code
Indicates the presence or absence of the G3 module. That is, if the data of bit 0 is 0, it means that the G3 module is not installed in this facsimile device.
The case of indicates that the G3 module is mounted.

The data of bit 1 of the identification information code indicates the presence or absence of the G4 module. That is, when the data of bit 1 is 0, it means that the G4 module is not mounted in this facsimile apparatus, and when the data of bit 1 is 1, it means that the G4 module is mounted.

Further, the data of bit 2 of the identification information code indicates the presence / absence of the printer module. That is, when the data of bit 2 is 0, it means that the printer module is not mounted in this facsimile device, and when the data of bit 2 is 1, it means that the printer module is mounted.

Data of bit 3 of the identification information code indicates the memory capacity. That is, when the data of bit 3 is 0, it means that the memory capacity installed in this facsimile apparatus is 1 Mbytes, and when it is 1, it means that the memory capacity is 2 Mbytes.

FIG. 3 shows the flow of processing for creating the identification information code shown in FIG. The power of the facsimile machine is OF
When it is F, the processing is not performed (No at Step 100), and when the power is turned on (Yes at Step 100), the identification information code is cleared to 0 (Step 10).
2). The identification information code is, for example, the RAM 12
It is secured in the or register.

Next, it is checked whether or not there is a G3 communication module (step 104). If this check determines that there is a G3 module (step 1
04 affirmative determination), bit 0 of the identification information is set to 1 (step 106), and the process proceeds to the next step 108. If it is determined that there is no G3 communication module (step 10
4 negative determination), the bit 0 of the identification information remains 0 and the process proceeds to the next step 108.

Next, it is checked whether or not there is a G4 module (step 108). By this check, G4
When it is determined that there is a module (Yes at step 108), bit 1 of the identification information is set to 1 (step 110), and the process proceeds to the next step 112. If it is determined that there is no G4 module (No at step 108),
The bit 1 remains 0 and the process proceeds to the next step 112.

Next, it is checked whether or not there is a printer module (step 112). By this check,
If it is determined that there is a printer module (step 1
12 affirmative determination), bit 2 of the identification information is set to 1 (step 114), and the process proceeds to the next step 116. If it is determined that there is no printer module (step 11
2 negative determination), the bit 2 remains 0 and the process proceeds to the next step 116.

Next, whether the memory capacity is 1 MB or 2 MB
It is checked whether it is a byte (step 116). When it is determined by this check that the memory capacity is 2 Mbytes (Yes at Step 116), the bit 3 of the identification information is set to 1 (Step 118), and the process ends. When it is determined that the memory capacity is 1 Mbytes (negative determination in step 116), the bit 3 remains 0 and the process ends.

The above-mentioned identification information creation processing is performed by the power source O.
It is automatically executed at N or reboot (restart).
Thus, for example, if the power is turned off and the module configuration is changed, and then the power is turned on, new identification information corresponding to the changed module is newly created. You can make various diagnoses.

In the process of creating the identification information, the presence / absence of each module and the check of the memory capacity are performed by the CP.
This is performed by the U10 accessing each module via the system bus 8.

Next, a process of transferring the created identification information to the communication module will be described. Note that this transfer processing includes active transfer processing in which the created identification information is voluntarily transferred to the communication module and passive transfer processing in which the created identification information is transferred to the communication module based on a request from the communication module. .

First, the active transfer process will be described with reference to FIG. When the power of the facsimile is OFF, the transfer process is not performed (No at Step 130), and when the power is ON (Yes at Step 130), the identification information creation process shown in FIG. 3 is executed (Step 13).
2). As a result, identification information is obtained.

Next, it is judged whether or not the facsimile apparatus has a G3 module (step 134), and if there is a G3 module (step 134 affirmative judgment),
After transferring the identification information to the G3 module (step 1
36) Go to next step 138. If there is no G3 module (No determination in step 134), this transfer is not performed and the process proceeds to the next step 138.

Next, it is judged whether or not the facsimile apparatus has a G4 module (step 138), and if there is a G4 module (step 138 affirmative judgment), the identification information is transferred to the G4 module (step 138). 14
0) This process ends. If there is no G4 module (No determination in step 138), the process is terminated without performing this transfer.

The identification information transferred to the G3 module or the G4 module is temporarily stored in the buffer (RAM) in these modules and is transmitted if there is a transfer request from the remote diagnostic system.

By actively transferring the identification information in this manner, the preparation for transferring the identification information indicating the module information of the device to the master device equipped with the diagnostic system is completed. In addition, by transferring the identification information to all the installed communication modules in advance, the identification information can be immediately sent when the master device makes a transmission request, and the diagnostic work can be speeded up. Can be achieved.

Next, the passive transfer process will be described with reference to FIG. When the power of the facsimile apparatus is OFF, the transfer process is not performed (No at Step 160), and when the power is ON (Yes at Step 160), the identification information creation process shown in FIG. 3 is executed (Step 16).
2). As a result, identification information is obtained.

Here, the process waits until a communication start request is issued from the communication module (No determination at step 164). Then, when there is a communication start request from the communication module (Yes at Step 164), the identification information is transferred to the requested communication module (Step 166), and this processing is ended.

By thus transferring the identification information to the requested communication module, it becomes ready to transfer the identification information indicating the module information of the device to the master device equipped with the diagnostic system. . Also,
It is also possible to perform the above-mentioned identification information creation processing when a request is made from the communication module, and then transfer it.
By doing so, the correct module configuration at the present time is reflected in the identification information, so that it is possible to deal with a case where the module is changed without turning off the power, for example.

Next, the process of transferring the identification information transferred to the communication module of the facsimile machine to the master machine equipped with the diagnostic system will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6, when a call is made from the master device and the slave device receives the call, the slave device sends a CED (Called Station Identification) signal.

When a predetermined time has elapsed after the CED signal was transmitted, the slave device is set to NSF (Non-Standard Facilitie).
s) send signals to the master device to inform it about non-standard features in the slave device.

FIG. 7 shows an example of the structure of this NSF signal. According to FIG. 7, the NSF signal has a preamble in the header part, and has a flag, an address field, a control field, an FCF (NSF command code), an FIF (facsimile information field) and an FC.
It is composed of S (frame checking sequence). Of these, the FIF contains additional information for further clarifying the control signal indicated by the FCF. Therefore, the identification information created by the processing shown in FIG. 3 can be stored in the remaining part of this FIF. In the example of FIG. 7, this identification information is stored in the 8th byte of the FIF.

Since the identification information is added to the NSF signal for transmission as described above, it is possible to transmit the NSF signal to the master device equipped with the diagnostic device while maintaining the same interface as the conventional one. The signal carrying the identification information is NS
Not limited to the F signal, an RSSP signal or the like may be used in G4 communication, for example.

The above is the facsimile apparatus according to the present embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, although the identification information is automatically created, the operator may be able to input or correct it using the operation display device 14. Further, the change of the module may be detected and the identification information may be recreated at this time, or the identification information may be recreated at regular intervals.

Although examples of modules such as G3 and G4 modules and printers have been given, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this example as long as it is an external device that can be mounted on or connected to a facsimile machine.

In addition, each constituent element, the flow of processing, and the like can be arbitrarily changed.

[0058]

According to the invention of claim 1, since it is possible to transmit the identification information of the module configuration of the facsimile apparatus to the remote diagnostic system, the remote diagnostic system considers the module configuration of the facsimile apparatus. The effect that the diagnostic program put in can be selected and an accurate diagnosis can be performed is obtained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the module configuration of the facsimile apparatus is changed, the identification information indicating the changed module configuration is newly created. The effect that the facsimile device can be accurately diagnosed is obtained.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the created identification information is immediately transferred to all the communication modules, the remote diagnosis system can immediately obtain the identification information regardless of which communication module is accessed. It is possible to obtain the effect that it is possible to make a quick diagnosis.

According to the invention of claim 4, since the created identification information is transferred to the communication module having the transfer request, the identification information can be surely transmitted to the remote diagnosis system, and accurate diagnosis can be performed. The effect is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an identification information code.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an identification information creation process.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an active transfer process of identification information.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a passive transfer process of identification information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing transmission / reception signals between a master device and a slave device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of an NSF signal transmitted by the facsimile apparatus according to the first embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 CPU 12 RAM 34 communication module 36 communication module

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. In a facsimile machine which is subjected to a machine status diagnosis by a facsimile remote diagnosis system, a communication module for controlling communication with a partner machine and a module configuration of this facsimile machine are identified, and identification information indicating this configuration is created. And a transfer unit that transfers the identification information to the communication module. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identification unit identifies the changed module configuration and creates new identification information when the module configuration is changed. 3. The communication module includes a transmission buffer for storing the identification information transferred by the transfer means, and the transfer means includes all of the facsimile devices when the identification information is created by the identification means. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the identification information is transferred to a transmission buffer of the communication module. 4. The transfer means transfers the identification information to a communication module that has made a transfer request when the transfer request is issued from the communication module.
Facsimile apparatus described in 1.