JPH0923322A - Facsimile equipment with memory communication function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To refer to the idle capacity of a picture memory so as to select the optimum transmission speed and reception mode at the time of memory reception. SOLUTION: The idle capacity of a picture memory 52 is discriminated after call incoming or terminating; and when the idle capacity is larger than a prescribed value, reception is started at a high transmission speed to store the picture data in the picture memory 52. If the idle capacity of the picture memory 52 is smaller than the prescribed value, reception is started at a middle or low transmission speed to print out the picture data by a printing output part 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile machine having a memory communication function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A facsimile machine having a memory communication function has a memory transmission function and a memory reception function.
In the memory reception, the image data transmitted from the transmission source can be received through the modem and then stored in the image memory. By the way, in the case of performing such memory reception, in the current facsimile apparatus, a test signal is transmitted from the transmission source at the highest transmission speed at the beginning of image data transmission, and this test signal cannot be correctly received by the receiving side. In this case, the so-called fallback function of sequentially decreasing the transmission rate is set to the optimum transmission rate.

However, such a transmission speed tends to increase in the future, and when the transmission speed becomes 14.4 kbps, the amount of data transmitted in a unit time becomes extremely large, so that it is stored in the image memory. If there is not enough free space, even if the line condition is good, if the image data is received at the same transmission speed, the print output unit may not be able to keep up and it may not be possible to receive it correctly. there were. That is, while the received image data is temporarily stored in the buffer memory, new image data is transmitted sequentially while printing on the recording paper, so if the transmission speed is not slowed, the image data will not be printed. Unprinted image data could not be printed because new image data was rewritten or new image data was discarded.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been developed in view of the above circumstances in the above-mentioned conventional facsimile apparatus having a memory communication function. An object of the present invention is to provide a facsimile apparatus having a memory communication function, which refers to the free space of the image memory and selects the optimum transmission speed and reception mode.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A facsimile apparatus of the present invention proposed to achieve the above object determines a free space in an image memory when a call is received from a sender or when a call is received. However, when the free space is larger than the predetermined value, the image data reception is started from a high transmission rate and stored in the image memory. However, when the free space is smaller than the predetermined value, the image data is received. Is started at a medium to low transmission speed and is printed out without being stored in the image memory. Here, the predetermined value for determining the free space is the transmission speed when receiving the image data,
Even if the print output speed is exceeded, the memory capacity is sufficient to guarantee reliable print output by temporarily storing the received image data in the memory. For example, image data for one page or more The amount of memory that can be stored is that value. In addition, the high transmission rate and the medium and low transmission rates are 14.4 kbps and 9.6 k, respectively.
Below bps is appropriate.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the facsimile machine receives a call from the sender, and then receives the image data by a facsimile procedure signal exchanged with the sender before receiving the image data. High-speed transmission reception and medium-low transmission speed reception are declared, and the sender is requested to have the transmission speed of image data. The transmission speed of the image data reception can be requested to the transmission source by the DIS signal (digital identification signal).

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the facsimile apparatus of the present invention discriminates the free space of the image memory after the call is received, and if the free space is larger than a predetermined value, an incoming call is received and reception is started at a high transmission rate. If the free space in the image memory is less than the specified value, the incoming call is not received and
It is configured to reject the transmission of image data from the transmission source.

In the present invention as described above, each time new image data is received, an image file is created and stored in the image memory, the remaining capacity of the image memory is discriminated, and the free space of the image memory is reduced. If it is judged to be small, the incoming call is rejected, if the image memory capacity is large, the reception of the image data is started from the high transmission speed, and the preset amount is set when the remaining capacity of the image memory is to be secured. Image data having a low storage priority that meets the conditions may be overwritten and received at a high transmission rate.

According to the present invention, the transmission rate and the reception mode of image data are determined by the following procedure. According to claim 1, the signal processing unit refers to the memory communication management table in which the management information for managing the image data as a file is stored at the time when there is a call from the transmission source or after receiving the call. Then, the free space of the image memory is determined. As a result, if the free space of the image memory exceeds a predetermined value, it is received at a high transmission rate including the maximum transmission rate and the received image data is sequentially stored in the image memory. If the free space is less than the predetermined value, real-time reception is performed in which the received image data is received at a medium to low transmission rate, and the received image data is sequentially printed out on recording paper. In the memory reception and the real-time reception, a normal fallback function is appropriately executed, and the image data is received at an optimum transmission rate in which an error is unlikely to occur depending on the line state.

According to claim 2, the facsimile machine,
A procedure signal exchanged in a facsimile communication procedure executed before receiving image data from the sender, for example, D
By the IS signal (digital identification signal) or the like, the transmission at the selected transmission rate such as high transmission rate, medium low transmission rate, etc. is declared to the transmission source. According to the third aspect, if there is a call from the transmission source, at that time, the signal processing unit refers to the memory communication management table in which management information for managing the image data as a file is stored, and the image memory becomes free. Determine capacity. As a result, if the free space of the image memory exceeds the predetermined value, the modem receives the call and receives it at a high transmission rate including the maximum transmission rate, and executes the memory reception in which the received image data is sequentially stored in the image memory. However, if the free space of the image memory is below a predetermined value, the modem is not made to receive the call and the image data from the transmission source is rejected. Note that in memory reception, a normal fallback function is executed as appropriate, and it goes without saying that image data is received at an optimum transmission rate at which an error is unlikely to occur depending on the state of the line.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of a facsimile apparatus F having a memory communication function according to the present invention. The facsimile apparatus F of the present invention is
A signal processing unit 1 including a CPU and the like, a facsimile transmission / reception control unit 2 including a modem for transmitting / receiving a facsimile procedure signal and transmitting / receiving image data via a telephone line L, a communication circuit 4 including a telephone 4a, and a facsimile. A line control unit 3 that controls switching of the telephone line L with the transmission / reception control unit 2, an image storage unit 5 including a memory communication management table 51 and an image memory 52, a facsimile transmission / reception control unit 2 receives the image, or an image memory. A print output unit 6 for printing out the image data accumulated in 52 on a recording sheet, an image reading unit 7 for reading and scanning a document and converting it into image data, and a key operation unit including various control switches including a numeric keypad and the like. 8,
The display unit 9 is composed of a liquid crystal screen or the like for displaying messages and the like.

The basic operation of the facsimile apparatus F of the present invention in the memory reception will be described below. When a call signal is received (incoming call) from the transmission source facsimile device via the telephone line L, or when the facsimile transmission / reception control unit 2 receives the call by switching control of the line control unit 3. The signal processing unit 1 refers to the memory communication management table 51 and determines the free space of the image memory 52.

Since the memory communication management table 51 stores management information for managing the image data stored in the image memory 52 as a file, the free space of the image memory 52 is determined and the free space exceeds a predetermined value. If so, for example, receiving at a high transmission rate of 14.4 kbps,
The memory communication management table 51 is updated, the received image data is sequentially stored in the image memory 52, and at the same time, the image data is read out from the image memory 52 and printed out on the recording paper by the print output unit 6. Yes (memory reception). After the print output, the memory communication management table 51 is updated to erase (overwrite) the image data from the image memory 52.

On the other hand, if the free space of the image memory 52 is below a predetermined value, the image data is received at a medium to low transmission rate of 9.6 kbps, for example, and is sequentially printed out on the recording paper while receiving the image data ( Real-time reception). The predetermined value for determining the free space of the image memory 52 described here guarantees that the printout will be surely made by the memory reception even if the transmission speed at the time of reception exceeds the printout speed. It is as much memory capacity as possible,
For example, the amount of memory enough to store image data for one page or more (about 12 kbytes when reading and scanning A4 size recording paper in the standard mode) is the value.

The setting of the transmission rate after determining the free space of the image memory 52 can be performed in the facsimile communication procedure prior to the reception of the image data. After receiving the call, a procedure signal for handshake with the sender, for example, D
With the IS signal (digital identification signal), the facsimile transmission / reception control unit 2 can declare an arbitrary transmission rate to the transmitting side and start receiving image data.

In this way, the transmission speed can be changed depending on the free space of the image memory 52, but the facsimile apparatus F of the present invention operates as follows. When the calling signal is received from the facsimile machine of the transmission source, the signal processing unit 1 refers to the memory communication management table 51 to determine the free space of the image memory 52. As a result, if the free space of the image memory 52 exceeds a predetermined value, an incoming call is received by the switching control of the line control unit 3 and the facsimile procedure by the facsimile transmission / reception control unit 2 is executed to receive image data at a high transmission rate. Then, while sequentially storing the image data in the image memory 52, the image data is sequentially read out and printed out on the recording paper by the print output unit 6 (memory reception). On the other hand, if the free space of the image memory 52 is less than the predetermined value, the incoming call is not accepted and the image data from the sender is rejected.

Next, the basic operation of the facsimile apparatus F of the present invention will be described using a flowchart. Steps 100 to 116 in FIG. 2 are diagrams showing the operation at the time of receiving the image data, but in this figure, the image memory 52 after the incoming call is received.
Of the DIS signal is set, the transmission speed of the DIS signal to be transmitted during the handshake is set according to the free space, and then the incoming image data is received (memory reception or real-time reception).

[0018]

As can be understood from the above description, according to the facsimile apparatus having the memory communication function of the first aspect of the present invention, when the memory reception is performed at the high transmission speed, the image memory becomes empty. With reference to the capacity, the transmission rate is switched to medium-low transmission rate and the reception mode is switched to the real-time reception mode.
The printing speed may not catch up with the transmission speed, and image data may not be received correctly or may not be printed out.
Further, when the free space of the image memory is the amount that can be received by the memory, the transmission speed is switched from the medium low transmission speed to the high transmission speed, so that the print output speed can be automatically increased.

According to the facsimile apparatus having the memory communication function of the second aspect, since the optimum transmission speed can be set by the conventionally used facsimile procedure signal, a new function is added to the transmitting facsimile apparatus. No need to add. According to the facsimile device having the memory communication function of claim 3, when the memory reception is performed at a high transmission speed, the incoming call does not occur when the free space of the image memory is insufficient. In addition, there is no case where the reception cannot be received or the printout cannot be performed, and no extra trouble is put on the sender.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of a facsimile apparatus having a memory communication function according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an example of a basic operation of a facsimile apparatus having a memory communication function according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

F: Facsimile device having memory communication function according to the present invention 1 ... Signal processing unit 2 ... Facsimile transmission / reception control unit 3 ... Line control unit 5 ... Image storage unit 51 ... Memory Communication management table 52 ... Image memory 6 ... Print output unit L ... Telephone line

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A free space in the image memory is determined after an incoming call or an incoming call. If the free space is larger than a predetermined value, reception is started at a high transmission rate and stored in the image memory.
A facsimile apparatus having a memory communication function configured to start reception at a medium to low transmission rate and print out image data at a print output unit when the free space of the image memory is smaller than a predetermined value. 2. After receiving a call, prior to receiving image data from the sender, a facsimile procedure signal exchanged with the sender is used to declare high-speed transmission reception and medium-low transmission speed reception, and start reception. A facsimile apparatus having a memory communication function according to claim 1, wherein a transmission speed to be set is set. 3. The free space of the image memory is determined after the incoming call,
When the free space is larger than the specified value, the incoming call is received and the reception is started at a high transmission rate and stored in the image memory, while when the free space of the image memory is smaller than the specified value, the memory that does not receive Facsimile machine with communication function.