JPH10256948A - Communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication equipment which can not only normally receive FAX transmission data but also normally output a print even at the time when FAX transmission from an outside wire occurs during print output based on communication in a frequency hopping system. SOLUTION: If FAX data is transmitted an outside wire during image output in a master machine 1 based on data transmitted from, for example, a slave machine 40A, this FAX data is stored in a communication memory, and communication information like a destination telephone number related to this FAX data is stored also in the communication memory. This communication information us transferred to a transfer destination which is preliminarily set correspondingly to the destination telephone number. A user of the slave machine 40A who received this communication information refers to this communication information to request transfer of FAX image data to the master machine 1 at need, and them the master machine 1 transfers this data to the slave machine 40A.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technical field of a radio communication apparatus for performing communication according to a predetermined spread code by a spread spectrum method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a communication system using the spread spectrum communication system, a communication system based on a frequency hopping system (hereinafter referred to as an FH system) has been used in order to effectively use frequencies and enhance confidentiality. ing.
In the FH method, a carrier is spread by hopping according to a rule predetermined by a spreading code sequence. A transmission / reception device in a conventional two-way communication system using a spread spectrum communication system based on the FH system is configured as shown in FIG. 29, for example.

First, when transmission is performed, a signal of a random frequency is output from the frequency synthesizer 206 in accordance with the spreading code sequence output from the spreading code sequence generator 205. On the other hand, a primary modulation signal is input to the transmission data input terminal 220, and the output frequency of the primary modulation signal is determined by the up-converter 203 based on the output from the frequency synthesizer 206. The transmission data frequency-converted by the up-converter 203 is amplified by the amplifier 208 and then transmitted and output from the antenna 211 via the duplexer 210.

Next, when reception is performed, the antenna 2
11 is separated from the transmission wave by the duplexer 210, amplified by the amplifier 209, and then downconverted by the downconverter 2.
07. Then, the frequency is converted by the down converter 207 based on the signal designating the frequency from the frequency synthesizer 206, and is demodulated by the demodulator 212 to be received data. The received data is output to a data operation circuit (not shown) and a synchronization circuit 20 is provided.
4 is also output. The synchronization circuit 204 detects the phase of the hopping frequency from the received signal, and outputs a synchronization signal to the spread code sequence generator 5 from the synchronization circuit 204. The spread code sequence generator 205 outputs a spread code sequence according to the input synchronization signal, and the spread code sequence output from the spread code sequence generator 5 is output to the frequency synthesizer 206.
, And the frequency synthesizer 206 generates a random frequency output according to the input spread code sequence.

[0005] Down converter 207 despreads the received signal by multiplying the received signal by the output from frequency synthesizer 206. The despread signal despread by downconverter 207 is demodulated by demodulator 212, and the demodulated received data is output from received data output terminal 221.

[0006] Then, the bidirectional communication is performed by the simultaneous operation of the transmitting section and the receiving section as described above.

[0007] The random frequency means that a spread code output from the spread code generator 205 every time a synchronization signal is input changes randomly, and this spread code sequence (frequency hopping pattern). Are transmitted and received by sharing a set of communication devices with each other.

[0008] As a specific example of an apparatus using such a communication method, an apparatus having both a facsimile function and a printer function is used as a parent machine, a data terminal such as a personal computer is used as a child machine, and A communication method using the above-described communication method for communication between slave units is exemplified.

According to this apparatus, the master unit can be used as a printer by printing out data transmitted from a slave unit such as a personal computer in the master unit, and facsimile data can be transmitted from an external line. If there is, the master unit receives and outputs the data, so that the master unit can be used as a facsimile machine.

[0010]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, facsimile data is transmitted from an external line while the master unit receives data from a slave unit such as a personal computer and prints out the data. In this case, since the printer unit has already been used, the external facsimile apparatus that has transmitted the facsimile data is in a standby state, and further an error occurs due to a timeout, and normal reception can be performed at the master unit. could not.

Therefore, if facsimile data is received during print output, the print output is temporarily stopped,
It is also conceivable to output facsimile data with priority.

However, in such a method, there is a problem that the data transfer rate from the slave unit to the master unit temporarily decreases, and high-speed print output cannot be performed.

In particular, when spread spectrum digital communication such as the above-described frequency hopping method is performed between a master unit and a slave unit, the frequency used for communication and the switching timing thereof coincide with each other. It is preferable to give priority to communication processing between the master unit and the slave unit.

In addition, many facsimile data do not always need to be output, and if the required print output is interrupted by the output of facsimile data that is not required by the user, the device is inconvenient to use. turn into.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems. In a communication apparatus having at least a facsimile function and a printer function and performing spread spectrum digital communication, a facsimile transmission from an external line during a print output by the communication is provided. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device that can normally receive the facsimile transmission data and can also normally perform the print output even when there is a problem.

[0016]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication apparatus, comprising: a base unit connected to at least one external communication line; A communication device, comprising: a slave unit that generates at least one non-voice data connected to a communication line; wherein the master unit transmits and receives data to and from an external communication line transmitting and receiving unit that transmits and receives data through the external communication line. Data type determining means for determining the type of data, and data for converting data into a format that can be handled by either the external communication line side or the device internal side according to the data type determined by the data type determining means A conversion unit, a base unit-side wireless transmission / reception unit that wirelessly transmits / receives at least non-voice data to / from the slave unit by a frequency hopping method, and the external communication line or the wireless communication unit. Storage means for storing the non-voice data received via the communication line, and when the non-voice data is received by the external communication line transmitting / receiving means via the external communication line, the non-voice data and the non-voice data Communication control means for storing communication information received together with the master unit, wherein the slave unit synchronizes at least non-voice data with the master unit in a frequency hopping manner between the slave unit and the master unit. Wireless communication means for wirelessly transmitting and receiving at the set timing.

According to the communication device of the first aspect, at least non-voice data is transmitted / received by the external communication line transmitting / receiving means of the master unit via the external communication line, and before transmission from the master unit or after reception by the master unit, The data type is determined by the data type determining means. The data before transmission is converted into a format that can be handled on the external communication line side by the data conversion means according to the determined data type, and the data after reception is converted into data inside the apparatus by the data conversion means according to the data type. It is converted to a format that can be handled by the side. Therefore, smooth communication of non-voice data is performed between the master unit and the external communication line.

The non-voice data received by the master unit is stored in the storage unit by the communication control unit together with the communication information, and a transfer request for the non-voice data stored in the storage unit is transmitted from the slave unit. As a result, at least non-voice data is transferred from the master unit to the slave unit.

Since the wireless communication between the master unit and the slave unit is performed by a frequency hopping method by the master unit-side wireless transmission / reception unit and the slave unit-side wireless transmission / reception unit, confidentiality and frequency use efficiency are improved. Further, since the transfer request can be made at any time as needed, even when non-voice data is received from an external communication line during data transfer from the slave unit to the master unit, There is no reduction in the data transfer rate between the two.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to the first aspect, the communication control means extracts a source telephone number of the non-voice data from the communication information and stores the extracted telephone number. And storing the source name corresponding to the source telephone number stored in advance in association with the extracted source telephone number.

According to the communication apparatus of the second aspect, the communication control means extracts the source telephone number of the non-voice data from the communication information and stores the same in the storage means. Then, a source name corresponding to the source telephone number stored in advance is stored in association with the extracted source telephone number. Therefore, the sender can be easily confirmed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the first or second aspect, the communication control means responds to a transfer request output from a master unit or a slave unit. The communication information stored in the storage unit is transferred to the slave unit by the wireless transmission / reception unit.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the communication control means transfers the communication information stored in the storage means in response to a transfer request output from the master unit or the slave unit. Therefore, the content of the non-speech data can be grasped to some extent even if the non-speech data is not output on the slave device side, and selection can be made easily.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, a transfer destination setting for setting a transfer destination in correspondence with the source telephone number. Means for transmitting either one or both of the non-voice data and the communication information stored in the storage means based on the information of the transfer destination to the slave unit. It is characterized by.

According to the communication apparatus of the fourth aspect, the transfer destination can be set by the transfer destination setting means for one or both of the non-voice data and the communication information stored in the storage means. Only the necessary data is selected on the slave side, which is the transfer destination, and the data is quickly obtained.

A communication device according to a fifth aspect is the communication device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects,
The image forming apparatus further includes an image forming unit that forms an image based on the image data, wherein the communication control unit transfers the stored image data as non-voice data to the image forming unit based on a request from the slave unit. And image formation.

According to the communication device of the fifth aspect, the image data stored in the storage means is not only transferred to the child device based on a request from the child device, but also transmitted to the parent device by the image forming means. Is formed and output. Therefore,
Diversification and optimization of information acquisition according to the user's request are achieved.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, there is provided at least one slave unit for handling audio data connected to a wireless communication line. The apparatus further comprises means for transmitting and receiving voice data and non-voice data through the external communication line as the external communication line transmitting / receiving means, and as a base unit side wireless transmitting / receiving means, a slave unit and voice data handling the non-voice data. Means for wirelessly transmitting and receiving both the non-speech data and the speech data in a frequency hopping manner by time-division processing to and from the handset to be handled, and switching the time-division timing according to the type of the data or the wireless communication state Further comprising a base unit side switching control means, the audio data between the base unit or another handset as the handset side wireless transmission / reception means Means for wirelessly transmitting and receiving at least one of the audio data in a frequency hopping manner by time-division processing synchronized with the wireless transmission and reception timing of the parent device or another child device, the synchronous time-division timing The mobile terminal further includes a slave-side switching control unit that switches according to the type of the data or the wireless communication state.

According to the communication apparatus of the present invention, the non-voice data and the voice data received by the master unit are wirelessly transmitted and received between the master unit and the slave unit by a frequency hopping method based on time division processing. Therefore, at the same time as the transfer of the non-voice data as described above, the communication using the voice data is performed, and the communication of the above-described method having high confidentiality and high frequency use efficiency is efficiently performed.

[0030]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a master unit and a slave unit constituting a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the entire communication device according to the embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the communication apparatus according to the present embodiment comprises a master unit 1 connected to a general commercial analog telephone line by wire, and four master units 1 wirelessly connected to the master unit 1 by a frequency hopping method. Voice terminal slave units 20A to 20D and 4
It is composed of three data terminal slave units 40A to 40D.

First, the configuration of the master unit 1 will be described. The parent machine 1 is a multifunction peripheral having a scanner function, a facsimile function, a print function, and a parent-child telephone function.
As shown in (A), an NCU (Network Control Unit) 2 for controlling an external analog telephone line, voice codecs 3a and 3b as data conversion means for performing digital coding of voice data, and a facsimile A modem 5 as a data conversion unit having a transmission / reception function and a data transmission / reception function for personal computer communication, and a transmission / reception as a base unit-side wireless transmission / reception unit for performing a below-described frequency hopping wireless communication with a slave unit. Device 6
And an image reading block 7 composed of a scanner or the like,
An image output block 8 as an image forming means for forming an image on a recording material, a handset 9 for making an external or internal call from the base unit 1, and a means for controlling each of these means or devices , External communication line transmitting and receiving means,
Data type determination means, communication control means, transfer destination setting means,
And a CPU 10 as a base unit side switching control means;
ROM 11 in which a program or data for operating U10 is stored, and RAM 1 for temporarily storing arithmetic processing data or the like during operation of CPU 10
2 is provided.

The apparatus of this embodiment is provided with a communication memory 13 as storage means for storing incoming facsimile images and index information.

It should be noted that an illustration of an operation section including switches for operating the master unit 1 is omitted. or,
In FIG. 1A, a solid line connecting each means and the device represents a control line, and a dotted line represents a data line.

Next, the configuration of each means and device constituting the above-described master unit 1 will be described in detail.

The NCU 2 for controlling the outside line is shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), the external line, the external line, the external line, and the external line are connected to four analog telephone lines.
Under the control of 10, the audio codec 3a, 3b or the modem 5 is connected.

The audio codecs 3a and 3b are
Is a means for converting audio data from analog to digital, and converts audio data digitally coded and transmitted from the slave units 20A to 20D into analog data, or receives from the handset 9 via the CPU 10, Alternatively, digital encoding is performed to transmit analog audio data received from an external line via the NCU 2 to the slave units 20A to 20D.

The modem 5 realizes terminal characteristics and transmission procedures employing class 2 (EIA-592) or the like, which is currently standardized as a FAX modem.
(Modified Huffman) data compression encoding is performed, and data is transmitted / received to / from the telephone network at a desired transmission speed. It also has a block for converting or reverse converting to a data form suitable for wireless transmission and reception.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed configuration of the transmitting / receiving device 6.
As shown in FIG. 3, the transmission / reception device 6 includes a hop frequency data generation unit 31 that generates hop frequency data used for switching frequencies in a predetermined hopping pattern.
And a communication unit 32 that spreads an input signal into a transmission signal using hop frequency data given from the hop frequency data generation unit 31 and despreads a received signal to output a signal.

The hop frequency data generator 31 includes a frame counter 34 which counts up each time an output signal from the clock 33 is input, and a frame counter 34
A hopping counter 35 that counts up each time a hopping start signal is input from the hopping counter 35, and a hopping table 36 that stores a predetermined hop frequency data sequence. The hop frequency data is read out from the CPU and the hop frequency data is generated as an output signal. Note that these frame counters 3
4. Hopping counter 35, hopping table 36
May be configured separately as described above,
The communication unit 32 includes a frequency synthesizer 37 that oscillates at an oscillating frequency f _N ′ according to the hop frequency data supplied from the hop frequency data generating unit 31. The modulator 54 modulates the signal of the oscillation frequency f _N ′ from the frequency synthesizer 37 and the data from the voice codec 3a, 3b or the modem 5 and mixes the transmission input signal of the frequency f _1F with the up converter 38.
A transmission signal of a frequency f _N to be output amplified by the amplifier 39 from being configured so as to transmit from the antenna 6a via the duplexer 50 to the signal. The other hand, a signal of a frequency fN received by the antenna 6a, and amplified input to the amplifier 51 via the duplexer 50, a signal of the oscillation frequency f _N 'from the frequency synthesizer 37 and the signal of the frequency f _N The output signal is mixed by the down converter 52 to generate a reception output signal having a frequency f _1F .

The received output signal having the frequency f _1F is demodulated by the demodulator 55, and then the voice codecs 3a, 3a shown in FIG.
3b, 3c or the modem 5 and also to the synchronization circuit 53. The synchronization circuit 53 detects the phase of the hopping frequency from the received output signal, and outputs a synchronization signal to the hopping counter 35 from the synchronization circuit 53. The hopping counter 35 outputs to the hopping table 36 according to the input synchronization signal, hop frequency data is read from the hopping table 36, and the hop frequency data is generated as an output signal.

FIG. 4 shows an example of hop frequency switching by the transmitting / receiving device 6 as described above. In the example shown in FIG.
The hop frequency is switched every cycle T.

In this embodiment, the hopping table 36 is provided with a hopping frequency data string as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, three different hopping frequency data strings of channels 1, 2, and 3 are used, and the contents of the frequency data constituting each frequency data string are different from each other. Therefore, for example, even if channel 1 is used for communication between the parent device and the child device, channel 2 can be used for communication between child devices, and channel 3 can be used for communication between another child device. Simultaneous communication between a plurality of devices is enabled by channelization.

Next, the image reading block 7 is provided with image reading means such as a scanner, and the image data read by the image reading means is temporarily stored in the buffer 7a.
Under the control of the CPU 10, an image is output in an image output block 8 described below or transmitted to an outside line or a slave via the modem 5.

The image output block 8 is means for outputting data stored in the buffer 8a as an image. For example, means using an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, thermal transfer means using a thermal head, or ink jet head And the like. The data stored in the buffer 8a may be facsimile data received via an external line, or
The image data transmitted from the image reading block 40D and the image data read by the image reading block 7 are included.

The handset 9 has a microphone, a speaker, and the like (not shown).
Alternatively, extension calls to the slave units 20A to 20D can be made.

The CPU 10 controls internal / external line communication in response to a communication request from an external line or a slave, controls slot allocation in one frame, which is one unit of communication, manages a communication control table, determines the type of data to be transmitted and received, And storage of non-voice data and communication information in a communication memory, and setting of a transfer destination. The external communication line transmitting / receiving means, the data type determining means, the communication control means, the transfer destination setting means, and the master unit side Functions as switching control means. Details will be described later.

The ROM 11 stores a program for operating the CPU 10 and a hardware allocation table and the like on which a communication control table is created. The table will be described later.

The RAM 12 temporarily stores data used for arithmetic processing during the operation of the CPU 10 and also stores a communication control table. This table will be described later.

The communication memory 13 as storage means for storing non-speech data and communication information is composed of a semiconductor memory like the RAM 12, and stores a predetermined amount of image data and index information as communication information to be described later. It has a storage capacity. As the communication memory 13, a flash memory, a hard disk, a floppy disk, an optical disk, or the like can be used.

The above is the configuration of each means and device of the parent machine 1. Next, the configuration of the slave units 20A to 20D will be described.

Each of the slave units 20A to 20D is a cordless telephone, and as shown in FIG. 1B, a microphone 21A for inputting sound and a speaker 22A for outputting sound.
And an audio codec 24A as data generation means for converting analog audio data input from the microphone 21A into digital audio data, converting digital audio data into analog audio data, and outputting the analog audio data to the speaker 22A.
, A transmitting / receiving device 25A as a slave-side wireless transmitting / receiving means for transmitting and receiving data via an antenna 26A, and a CPU 27A as a selection control means for controlling these.
It has.

The microphone 21A and the speaker 22A are accommodated in a case of a cordless telephone so as to function as a transmitter and a receiver. The voice input from the microphone 21A is converted into a voice data signal by the voice codec 24A having the same configuration as the voice codecs 3a and 3b of the base unit 1, and the frequency hopping system having the same configuration as the transmission / reception device 6 of the base unit 1 is used. The signal is converted into a predetermined signal by a transmission / reception device 25A that performs transmission and reception, and transmitted from an antenna 26A. On the other hand, the predetermined signal received by the antenna 26A is:
Only the audio data signal is extracted by the transmitting / receiving device 25A, converted to an analog audio signal by the audio codec 24A, and output to the speaker 22A. The CPU 27A is connected to the master unit 1
Similar to the CPU 10, the slot allocation control and the table management of the slave unit are performed. This configuration is the same for the slave units 20B to 20D.

Next, the configuration of the slave unit 40A will be described. The slave 40A is a personal computer or a PD.
A (Personal Digital Assistants) and other data terminals that handle non-voice data, as shown in FIG.
A display device 41A using a liquid crystal or the like, a CPU 42A as a handset-side switching control unit that also performs various calculations or data processing, and also a data transmission / reception process, and a program or data for operating the CPU 42A are stored. ROM 43A, and RAM 44A for temporarily storing arithmetic processing data and the like during the operation of the CPU 42A.
And a modem 45A having a data transmission / reception function, and a transmission / reception device as a slave side wireless transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving data by a frequency hopping method as described later between the modem 45A and the base unit 1 via an antenna 47A. 46A. It is to be noted that an operation unit including switches and the like for operating the slave unit 40A is not shown. Further, it has the same configuration as the slave units 40B to 40D. Cordless handset 40
The transmission / reception device 46A of A has the same configuration as the transmission / reception device 6 of the parent device 1, and transmits and receives data by the frequency hopping method. Also, unlike the modem 5 of the base unit 1, the modem 45A is a block for converting a digital signal into a data form suitable for wireless transmission and reception, and a block for performing the reverse conversion. It is possible to read facsimile data and image data transmitted from an external line via the base unit 1 or to transmit facsimile data and image data created on the slave unit 40A via the base unit 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the communication device of the present embodiment has one master unit 1 as described above, four slave units 20A to 20D as audio data terminals, and non-audio data terminals. And four slave units 40A to 40D, and have the following functions.

A. External line call using the base unit 1 alone using the handset 9 b. FAX transmission / reception by the master device 1 alone using the image reading block 7 and the image output block 8 c. Extension call between master unit 1 and any of slave units 20A to 20D. D. External line communication between the slave units 20A to 20D via the master unit 1 e. Image output of master device 1 using image output block 8 of output data from slave devices 40A to 40D, or facsimile transmission of the data via master device 1 f. Reading of data input by master unit 1 by image reading block 7 or by facsimile reception by slave units 40A to 40D g. External line communication by the slave units 40A to 40D via the master unit 1 In other words, the master unit 1 responds to a communication request by each slave unit or an instruction input from the operation unit of the master unit 1, and the data handled by the request or the input. Is determined, a means, a device, or a line in the base unit 1 to be used is selected according to the data, and an appropriate communication process is performed.

The types of data handled are as follows:
Audio data received via an external analog telephone line,
There is FAX data or data such as personal computer communication, and all of these data are wirelessly transmitted and received between the master unit 1 and each slave unit.

In the communication apparatus of the present embodiment, when performing bidirectional communication of the frequency hopping method using TDD (time division duplex) as described later, the voice data and the non-voice data are mixed. In order to enable communication between the master unit and the slave unit in a state where communication is performed, one frame, which is one unit of transmission / reception, is divided into a slot for voice data and a slot for non-voice data, and transmission / reception is performed. Slot allocation processing is performed according to the type of data.

FIG. 6 shows the structure of a frame used in this embodiment. Frame 70 used in master device 1
Are occupied time slots 71, data receiving slots 72 for voice terminals such as slave units 20A to 20D, and slave units 40A to
Data terminal data transmission / reception slot 73 such as 40D
And a data transmission slot 74 for voice terminal.
On the other hand, a frame 80 used in the slave units 20A to 20D and 40A to 40D has substantially the same configuration as the frame 70, and includes an occupation time slot 81, a voice transmission data slot 82, and a data transmission data slot. Transmission / reception slot 83, data reception slot 8 for voice terminal
Four.

These slots are managed by the elapsed time when the start time of transmission / reception is set to 0, and transmission / reception is performed in units of frames composed of such slots, so that transmission / reception of voice data and non-voice Data transmission and reception are performed in a time sharing manner. Since the transmission and reception start timings of these frames are synchronized between the parent device and the child device,
Data can be transmitted and received between the parent device and the child device.

Next, a specific example of the transmission / reception processing when a frame having such a structure is used will be described.

First, when transmission / reception is started, the period from 0 to t1 is the occupied time slots 71 and 81, so that no data transmission / reception is performed between the parent device and the child device.
The occupation time is a time for stabilizing at a frequency after the hop in the frequency hopping method shown as a period t in FIG. 4, and in order to perform accurate data transmission and reception, any data transmission / reception until the occupation time ends. Is not done.

Next, during the period from t1 to t2, the audio data reception slot 72 for the audio terminal is used on the master device side, and the audio data transmission slot 82 is used for the audio terminal on the slave device side. Any of the slave units 20A to 20D transmits audio data during this period, and the master unit 1 receives the audio data.

Next, during the period from t2 to t3, the transmission / reception slots 73 and 83 for non-speech data for data terminals are used. For example, when there is transmission data from any of the slave terminals 40A to 40D for data terminals. In this period, the transmission data is transmitted to the base unit 1 during this period, and the base unit 1 receives the data during this period. Similarly, when there is communication data from outside through an outside line, master device 1 transmits data to any of slave devices 40A to 40D during the period of non-voice data transmission / reception slot 73 for data terminals. And any of the slave units 40A to 40D receive the data in this period.

Next, during the period from t3 to t4, the voice data transmission slot 74 for the voice terminal on the parent device side and the voice data reception slot 84 for the voice terminal on the child device side. If there is audio data transmitted from the slave unit in the audio data transmission slot 82 and responding to the audio data received by the master unit in the audio terminal audio data reception slot 72, the audio terminal audio The audio data is transmitted from the master unit 1 in the data transmission slot 74, and the slave units 20A to 20D receive the data during this period.

In this embodiment, since communication is performed using the frame constituted by the slot for voice data and the slot for non-voice data, the communication between one voice terminal and the base unit is performed. , And communication between one data terminal slave unit and the master unit can be performed simultaneously.

Further, the frame counter 34 counts up for each such frame, and the frequency is sequentially hopped, so that the frequency is effectively used and the confidentiality is enhanced.

Further, the length of one frame shown in the period from 0 to t4 in FIG. 6 is fixed in this embodiment, but the length of each slot is variable depending on the size of voice data or non-voice data. Communication is possible. Also, for voice data, a transmission slot and a reception slot are always provided in one frame, so that simultaneous two-way communication is possible. On the other hand, for non-speech data, it is considered that the need for simultaneous two-way communication is small, so that either transmission or reception is performed within one slot. Therefore, switching between transmission and reception may be performed only in one of t2 and t3, and control is simplified.

Next, the data structure of the above slot will be described in detail with reference to FIG. First, the audio terminal transmission / reception slot 90 includes a preamble 91, control data 92, a transmission terminal identification ID 93, a reception terminal identification ID 94, and audio data 95 including a correction code. In the present embodiment, wireless data transmission and reception are performed without compressing audio data. However, audio data may be compressed by an audio codec depending on the communication speed. Also, the correction code is not an essential component of the present invention.

The preamble 91 ensures that all components of the communication line are adjusted to an appropriate state so that the following data is transmitted intact.

The control data 92 includes a data length in a slot and data identification information.

The in-slot data length is information for notifying the delimiter or interval of each slot, for example, the values at times t2, t3, and t4 shown in FIG. As mentioned above,
Since the slot length is variable according to the data length, the reception side can correctly receive data without causing a synchronization shift by referring to the data length in the slot included in the control data. It should be noted that a time margin in consideration of the propagation delay is provided between the slots.

The data identification information indicates whether the data transmitted in this slot is the voice data or the non-voice data.
Alternatively, it is information for identifying whether the data is data for synchronization or control data. The data for synchronization is data transmitted at the time of synchronization acquisition described later, and will be described in detail in the description of synchronization acquisition.
The control data is data for notifying a communication request or information such as permission or rejection of the request, and also includes a FAX command described later.

The transmitting-side terminal identification ID 93 is an ID number added to each of the transmitting-side devices. With this information, the receiving side can recognize the transmitting side and identify the type of data to be transmitted.

The receiving terminal identification ID 94 is an ID number added to each device on the receiving side. With this information, the receiving side can correctly select only data to be transmitted to itself, and Communication will be performed.

The audio data 95 is data after being coded by the audio codec as described above, and has an error correction code added thereto. The correction code is obtained by adding a predetermined redundant bit to a transmitted audio data by a predetermined error coding method. For example, a BCH (Bose-Cha)
udhuri-Hocquenghem code or RS (Read-Solomo)
n) Error correction coding using codes can be mentioned.

Next, the transmission / reception slot 10 for the data terminal is used.
0 is almost the same as the configuration of the voice data transmission / reception slot for the voice terminal. The preamble 101, the control data 102, the transmitting terminal identification ID 103, the receiving terminal identification ID 104, and the data 1 to which the error correction code is added are included.
05.

The control data 102, unlike the control data 92 of the voice data transmission / reception slot 90 for voice terminal, includes the next transmission terminal information. The next transmission terminal information is information for notifying which terminal transmits data in the next frame.
That is, as described above, the slot for the data terminal is 1
Since the frame is used only for either transmission or reception, the transmission direction between the communication devices is determined by the next terminal information. Since data with a large amount of information such as image information is often transmitted unilaterally, for example, when image information is transmitted from a child device to a parent device, the child device is set in a state in which the next transmission information is set in the child device. Continue sending from the machine.

The communication between the parent device and the child device and the communication between the child device and the child device need to be synchronized with each device. Therefore, in the communication device of the present embodiment, the following synchronous capture processing is performed. In this synchronous capture processing, the master unit and the slave unit perform transmission and reception at a control frequency existing during a certain period, and the master unit transmits to the master unit with respect to the slave unit registered in the master unit. Send data to check whether synchronization is possible.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart for explaining this synchronization acquisition processing. The master unit 1 transmits synchronization acquisition data to each slave unit using the synchronization acquisition transmission frames 106 and 107, and Transmits the response data to the base unit 1 using the response frames 108a to 108h at the timing designated by the base unit 1.

In the synchronous capture transmission frame, a synchronous capture slot as shown in FIG. 9 is used.
As shown in FIG. 9, the synchronization capturing slot 110 transmitted from the master unit to the slave unit includes a preamble 111, control data 112, a transmitting terminal identification ID 113, and a receiving terminal identification I.
D114 and synchronization acquisition data 115. The configurations of the preamble 111, the control data 112, the transmitting terminal identification ID 113, and the receiving terminal identification ID 114 are the same as those in the normal data transmission / reception slot shown in FIG.

However, in the synchronization acquisition data 115, information on the time at the time of synchronization and the next channel and slot are transmitted. The time for synchronization is a transmission start time based on a transmission frame for synchronization acquisition,
In FIG. 8, t10, t20, t30, t40, t5
0, t60, t70, and t80.

The next channel is one of the channels shown in FIG. 5, and the next slot is one channel.
This is the transmission timing within the frame. For example, in the example of FIG. 8, in the frame 108 whose transmission starts from time t10, response data from the slave unit is transmitted at time t11, and this time t11 corresponds to the “next slot”.

As described above, the response from each slave unit is performed by the response frames 108a to 108h as shown in FIG. 8, but within the response frame, the response slots 120 as shown in FIG. 9 are used. Can be As shown in FIG. 9, the response slot 120 transmitted from the slave unit to the master unit includes a preamble 121, control data 122, and transmission-side terminal identification I.
D123, receiving-side terminal identification ID 124, and response data 125. The preamble 121, control data 122, transmitting-side terminal identification ID
The configuration of the receiving terminal ID 123 and the receiving terminal identification ID 124 is shown in FIG.
Has the same configuration as that of the normal data transmission / reception slot shown in FIG.

However, in the response data 125,
Information on the reception level, the communication partner terminal, the request channel, the request slot, and the current state is transmitted.

The reception level is information as to whether or not the data for synchronization acquisition from master unit 1 has been normally received.
When receiving information indicating that the reception level is good from the slave unit at the designated channel and timing, it determines that synchronization has been established with the slave unit.

The communication partner terminal is used when the slave unit issues a communication request to the outside in addition to the reception level information, and is not always transmitted. For example, it is information indicating an outside line, a master unit, another slave unit, and the like.

The request channel and slot are also used only when there is a communication request from the slave unit.
Normally, the assignment of the channel and the slot to the communication request from the slave unit is performed by the master unit 1 as described later, and is not used in this embodiment.

The current state indicates what kind of communication state the slave unit is currently in. "Standby", "communication between slave unit and slave unit", and "master unit-slave unit". Communication ".

Next, a specific example of the synchronization acquisition processing using the above-described frames and slots will be described.

First, the master unit 1 sends a frame 1 for synchronization acquisition.
At 06, the slave units 20A to 20D and the slave units 40A to
Transmission of synchronization acquisition data is performed for all of the 40Ds. This transmission is performed by the synchronization acquisition slot 110 shown in FIG.
The receiver ID 114 is further divided into a plurality of parts, the IDs of the respective slaves are continuously transmitted, and the synchronization acquisition data 11 is
5 may be divided into a plurality of sections so that the data for synchronization acquisition for each slave unit is continuously transmitted. Or, the receiving side I
D114 and synchronization acquisition data 115 may be paired and transmitted repeatedly for each slave unit.
Alternatively, a common ID for synchronization is used instead of an ID unique to each slave unit.
And common data may be transmitted.

The slave unit that has received the transmission data from the master unit 1 by the above-described method transmits information indicating whether or not the reception level is good by the response slot 120 at the time designated by the master unit 1. In addition to the transmission, if there is a communication request from the child device to the parent device, the communication request is made at the time of this response.
If there is no communication request, only the current state is transmitted.

Then, the slot 12 as described above is
The master unit having received the data of 0 determines that synchronization has been achieved if the reception level is good, and determines that synchronization has not been achieved if the reception level is not good, and rewrites a communication control table described later.

When a communication request is issued from the slave unit to the slave unit that has been synchronized, after performing a communication process described later, the slave unit is set in the communication processing slot 130 shown in FIG. Make a response to This communication processing slot 1
Reference numeral 30 denotes a preamble 131, control data 132, a transmitting-side terminal ID 133, a receiving-side terminal ID 134,
And data 135 for communication processing. Control data 13
2, sender terminal ID 133, receiver terminal ID 1
34 is the same as described above.

However, the communication processing data 135 includes information on permission or rejection of a communication request from a slave, and information on the next channel and slot.

The communication processing slot 130 transmits communication processing data to each slave unit in the transmission frame 107 shown in FIG. 8, thereby controlling communication between the slave unit and other devices. Will be.

However, as in the case of the handset 40D shown in FIG. 8, when the transmission data of the base unit 1 is disturbed, or when the transmission data from the handset is disturbed like the handset 20D. In the second transmission frame 107,
Master device 1 is configured as shown in FIG.
Is repeated by the synchronization acquisition slot 110 shown in FIG.

On the other hand, slave units 20D and 40D receiving no transmission signal from master unit 1 monitor the control signal output from master unit 1 without sending a transmission signal to master unit 1 at all. Therefore,
If the obstruction state is resolved, the slave units 20D and 4
0D can also communicate.

Next, when there is a communication request from each slave unit, a communication request from an external line, or a call request by the master unit itself at the time of the above-described synchronous capture, the voice codec 3a, The process of assigning each line to the modem 3b or the modem 5 or the process of assigning the voice data or non-voice data to each slot of the communication frame will be described.

In this embodiment, the audio codec 3
a, 3b and the modem 5 cannot be connected to two lines at the same time, and the communication frame is allocated to only one device for each of the voice data slot and the data slot. And various kinds of allocation processing as described above according to the type of data transmitted and received.

Specifically, the CPU 10 of the master unit 1
0, a table formed on the RAM 12 manages the communication status, the connection status of each hardware, and the slot assignment.

The RAM 12 has a table area in addition to the facsimile data storage area, the data storage area, and the voice memory storage area, and the table is stored in this table area.

FIG. 10A shows an external line management table showing the external line connection state, which is divided into an area 140 indicating the type of external line and an area 141 indicating the connection state of the external line. Therefore, by referring to the external line management table, it is possible to know which hardware is connected to each external line. In the state shown in FIG.
The outside line is IDLE, that is, a standby state, and is not used. The outside line is connected to the voice codec 3a, the outside line is connected to the modem 5, and the outside line is IDLE, that is, in a standby state.

Next, FIG. 10B is a hardware management table showing what kind of data input / output terminal each hardware is connected to in the parent machine. It is divided into an area 143 indicating the control state inside the machine.

Therefore, by referring to the hardware management table, it is possible to know what data input terminal each hardware is connected to.
In the state shown in FIG. 10B, audio codec 3a is connected to slave unit 20A, and audio codec 3b is
DLE, that is, a standby state, indicates that the modem 5 is connected to the image output block 8 and the slave 40A.

Therefore, by referring to the external line management table and the hardware management table as described above, the slave unit 2
Reference numeral 0A indicates that an external call is being made through an external line via the voice codec 3a, and FAX data received from the external line is output to the image output block 8 in the master unit via the modem 5 and transmitted to the slave unit 40A. You can see that.

Next, FIG. 10C is a communication control table for managing the communication state, slot assignment, used channel, and synchronization capture state of the parent device and the child device. The table includes an area 144 indicating a master unit and a slave unit, an area 145 indicating a communication partner terminal, an area 146 indicating a slot allocation status, an area 147 indicating a used frequency channel, and information on synchronization capture. Are provided.

In the area 145 indicating the communication partner terminal, the master unit 1, the slave units 20A to 20D, and the slave units 40A to 4
In addition to 0D, IDLE information indicating a state in which communication is not performed is stored. In the case of an outside line call,
Information to that effect is also added. These pieces of information are rewritten based on the transmission-side ID data or the reception-side ID data in the above-described voice data or non-voice data slot. In the state shown in FIG. 10 (C), it can be seen that master device 1 is communicating with slave device 20A for an outside line call of slave device 20A, and is also performing extension communication with slave device 40C. In addition, as for the slave 20A, the master 1 and the slave 20B
Indicates that the slave unit 20C and the slave unit 20C are communicating with the slave unit 20B, respectively, and that the slave unit 20D is IDLE and is in a communication standby state. Further, the slave 40A communicates with the slave 40B, and the slave 40B communicates with the slave 40A.
It can be seen that 0C is communicating with the parent device 1 and the child device 40D is in a standby state.

The area 146 indicating the slot allocation status stores information indicating that the slot is a voice slot, a data slot, or a single slot.
It shows what kind of slot is used for communication between devices that can be specified by 45 and the area 146.
These pieces of information are determined based on the type of call signal at the time of a communication request from an outside line, and are determined based on the type of the slave unit when a communication request is received from the slave unit. Further, when there is a communication request from the master unit,
It is determined whether the handset 9 is used or a FAX transmission / reception button (not shown) is used. Details will be described later. By referring to the contents of the area 146, the empty state of the slot can be known. FIG.
In the example of 0 (C), the voice slot is allocated for communication between the slave unit 20A and the master unit 1 for outside line communication by the slave unit 20A, and the data slot is allocated for communication by the slave unit 40C. It can be seen that the child device 40C and the parent device 1 are allocated for communication. Also, the slave 20B and the slave 20
A single slot different from the communication slot between the parent device and the child device is assigned to the communication between the child devices by C, and further,
It can be seen that another single slot is also assigned to the communication between the slave units 40A and 40B.

An area 147 indicating a used frequency channel indicates which channel is allocated for communication between the devices. These pieces of information are determined and stored at the time of slot allocation processing described later. By referring to the contents of this area 147, it is possible to know the free state of the channel. In the example of FIG. 10 (C), the master unit 1 and the slave unit 2 for the outside line call of the slave unit 20A.
Channel 1 is allocated to the communication of 0A,
It can be seen that channel 1 is also assigned to the extension communication between the terminal and the base unit 1. The reason why communication is possible even with the same channel is that the types of slots allocated to the slaves 20A and 40C are different. In addition, slave unit 20B
Channel 2 is allocated to an extension call between the mobile device 20C and the mobile device 20C, and channel 3 is allocated to an extension communication between the mobile device 40A and the mobile device 40B.

Area 148 indicating information on synchronous capture
Is stored when the reception level data can be received at a predetermined timing at the time of synchronous capture described above. This area 14
By referring to the contents of No. 8, it can be determined whether or not a communication permission signal can be transmitted to the slave unit that has issued the communication request.

By referring to the communication control table as described above, it is possible to grasp what kind of partner and what kind of slot and channel the master unit 1 and each slave unit are currently communicating with. This makes it possible to accurately make a determination when allocating a slot and a channel to a device for which a new communication request has been made.

Hereinafter, communication processing including slot and channel allocation processing and FAX data processing in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 11 to 25 and FIGS.
This will be described with reference to the diagram showing the contents of the communication information in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, there is no communication request from the slave unit (step S1; NO), there is no communication request from the handset or the like of the base unit (step S3; NO), and communication from an outside line is further performed. If there is no request (step S5;
NO), and shifts to the communication end monitoring process (step S6). This communication end monitoring process is shown in FIG.
If communication is not currently being performed and the operation of the master unit alone is not being performed (step S60; NO to step S6)
1; NO), and shifts to communication processing again (step S6).
2) As shown in FIG. 1, a process of determining the presence / absence of a communication request from each device is performed (steps S1 to S3 to S5), and a standby state is set.

Here, a case where a communication request is made from an outside line (step S1; NO to step S3; NO to step S5; YES) will be described. In this case, the CPU 10
In order to determine whether the data transmitted from the external line is non-voice data such as facsimile data or voice data, the external line and the voice codec 3a or 3b or the modem 5
And fetch the transmission data.

Then, it is determined from the hardware management table whether or not both the audio codecs 3a and 3b are in use (step S8). If all the audio codecs are in use (step S8; YES), Next, similarly, it is determined whether or not the modem 5 is in use by using the hardware management table (step S9). As a result, if the modem 5 is also in use (step S9; YES), a signal to reject the communication request is transmitted to the outside line because the transmission data cannot be captured (step S22), and the communication end monitoring process is performed. (Step S23).

However, if any of the voice codecs is usable (step S8; NO), the usable voice codec is connected to an external line (step S16), and the contents of the external line management table are rewritten (step S17). .
That is, in the area 141 of the external line management table, information corresponding to the usable voice codec is stored in an area corresponding to the external line for which a communication request has been made. Then, the transmission data is transferred to the CP through the usable voice codec.
The data is taken into U10, the data is analyzed, and it is determined whether or not the data can be recognized as voice data (step S18). As a result, if it can be recognized as voice data (step S18; YES), the process proceeds to voice data calling processing (step S21). This voice data calling process is shown in FIG. 12, and will be described later in detail.

On the other hand, if the voice codec could not be recognized as voice data (step S18; NO), the voice codec connected to the external line is released (step S19), and the area of the external line management table rewritten earlier is set to IDLE. rewrite. However, even if the transmission data is not voice data, there is a possibility that the transmission data is FAX data or other communication data. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the modem 5 is in use (step S9). Note that, as described above, this determination process is performed when all the audio codecs are being used (step S8; Y
ES). If the modem 5 can be used (step S9; NO), the protocol is established by connecting the modem 5 to an external line (step S10), and the contents of the external line management table are stored in the same manner as in the case of the voice codec. Rewrite (step S11). Next, the data fetched through the modem 5 is analyzed to determine whether it is possible to recognize the fax data or other communication data (step S12).
2; NO), release the modem 5 (step S13), rewrite the contents of the external line management table previously rewritten to IDLE (step S14), transmit a request rejection signal for the external line (step S22), and monitor the communication completion. The process shifts to processing (step S23).

However, if it is recognized that the data is FAX data or other communication data (step S12; YE
S), the process proceeds to the non-voice data calling process (step S15). This non-voice data calling process is shown in FIG. 15, and will be described later in detail.

Next, the calling process for voice data (step S18; YES to step S21) when it is determined that the voice data is the result of the above-described analysis of the transmission data will be described with reference to FIG.

First, in the case of voice data, it is determined based on the communication control table whether or not all the slaves are in use to call the slaves (step S30). In this case (step S30; YES), master device 1
It is determined whether or not the handset 9 is also in use by a hook signal or the like in the base unit 1 (step S42). If the handset 9 is also in use (step S42; Y
ES), a signal for rejecting the communication request is transmitted to the outside line (step S43), the voice codec previously connected to the outside line is released (step S39), and the corresponding portion of the outside line management table is rewritten to IDLE (step S39). Step S40),
The process proceeds to a communication end monitoring process (step S41).

On the other hand, if any of the slave units can be used (step S30; NO), it is determined whether or not the voice slot can be used (step S31). The purpose of this is to check whether or not it is possible to perform external line communication with the slave unit by wirelessly transmitting the voice data received from the outside line to the slave unit using the voice slot. Therefore, the area 1 of the communication control table
It is determined whether or not the voice slot is used according to 46. If the voice slot is used (step S31; YES), it is determined whether or not the handset 9 is being used as described above (step S42). ), The same processing as described above is performed.

However, if the voice slot is usable (step S31; NO), a call signal for the handset is created (step S32), and it is determined whether the handset 9 is in use (step S33). . This is because if the handset 9 can be used, a call to the handset 9 is performed at the same time as the handset. Therefore,
If the result of the determination is that the handset 9 can be used (step S33; NO), a base unit calling signal is created (step S34). This process of creating a base unit calling signal is performed when all the slave units cannot be used or the voice slot is in use.
It is also performed when it is determined that the handset 9 can be used (step S42; NO).

Then, the calling signal created as described above is transmitted to the slave unit, the master unit, or both (step S3).
5) Wait for a response from each device (step S36). If there is no response from any device (step S3
6; NO), and stands by while determining whether or not to cancel the communication request from the outside line (step S38). As a result, when the communication request is released from the outside line side (step S38; YES), the corresponding part of the outside line management table is set to I
Rewrite to DLE (step S40) and shift to communication end monitoring processing (step S41).

However, when there is a response from any device (step S36; YES), the process shifts to voice data slot allocation processing (step S37). This process is shown in FIG. 13. First, it is determined whether the device that responded is the handset 9 (step S50).
If there is a response from the handset 9 (step S50; YES), an external call is started by the handset 9 without connecting the slave unit to the outside line (step S5).
5). On the other hand, if the response is not a response from the handset 9 but one of the slaves (step S50; NO),
A voice slot is allocated for wireless communication between the slave and the master (step S51). That is, one of the vacant channels is selected, the transmission ID and the reception ID in the voice slot are determined, and the channel and slot information determined at the time of the synchronization acquisition described above are transmitted to the slave unit of the communication partner. To send. Then, after performing such slot allocation processing, communication between the master unit and the slave unit is started (step S52).

Next, the hardware management table and the communication control table are rewritten (step S53). For example, in the case of an outside line call using the handset 9, information indicating that the connected device is the handset 9 is stored in the area 141 for the outside line. However, in this case, since the voice slot is not used, the communication control table is not rewritten.

On the other hand, in the case of an outside line call by one of the slave units, the area 143 for the voice codec 3a or 3b
In the table, information indicating that the connected device is any of the slaves is stored. Then, regarding the communication control table, the parent device 1
In the area 145 indicating the communication partner terminal, information indicating "slave 20A (outside line)" is stored, and the area 146 indicating the slot is stored.
Allows information indicating that the slot is a voice slot.
In the area 147 indicating the channel, “1” which is the channel that was available at that time is stored. In this way, communication is performed between the outside line and the handset 9 or the handset.

The data transmission / reception processing during the communication as described above is executed in parallel by an interrupt routine or the like separately from the communication processing such as the slot allocation processing described in the present embodiment. Then, the process proceeds to a communication end request monitoring process shown in FIG. 14 (step S54).

As shown in FIG. 14, for example, when there is a call termination request from the slave unit while the slave unit is in the outside line communication state (step S60; YES to step S60).
63; YES), the master unit transmits a communication end permission signal to the slave unit (step S64), and releases the audio codec or the audio slot used for communication with the slave unit (step S65). Processing such as clearing each table is performed (step S66), and the process returns to the standby state again (step S304; NO to step S62). Also, when a communication end request is made by the handset 9 due to an on-hook signal or the like, similar table management processing is performed except for the transmission of a communication end permission signal to the slave unit.
Return to the standby state again. The same applies to a case where a communication termination request is made from an outside line. The above is the outline of the outside line communication processing by the handset 9 or the voice terminal slave unit when a communication request is made from the outside line.

Next, a case will be described with reference to FIG. 11 where a communication request is received from an outside line and the transmitted data is non-voice data. In this case, the process proceeds to the non-voice data calling process (step S15).

This process is shown in FIG.
It is determined whether the transmitted data is FAX data (step S68). If the data is FAX data (step S6)
8; YES), the process proceeds to a parent machine FAX reception process described later (step S69). The parent machine FAX reception processing will be described later.

However, if it is not facsimile data (step S68; NO), the data terminal slave units 40A to 40A
In order to make a call to 40D, it is determined with reference to the communication control table whether these slaves are usable (step S70). As a result, if any of the slaves is usable (step S70; NO), by referring to the communication control table, it is determined whether or not the data slot is being used for wireless communication between the master and the slave. It is determined (step S71). If the data slot is usable (step S71; NO), a call signal for the slave unit is created (step S72), and the protocol is established (step S73). Specifically, after confirming synchronization acquisition by using a control slot as shown in FIG. 9, the current status of the slave unit is checked, and the channel and slot used for communication are designated to the slave unit. . Next, a call signal is transmitted to the child device (step S74), and a response from the child device is waited for (step S75).

As a result, if there is a response from the slave unit (step S75; YES), non-voice data slot allocation processing is performed (step S76). This processing is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, first, data received from an outside line is allocated to a data slot (step S87). Specifically, the transmission data length in one frame is determined in consideration of the length of the reception data or the presence / absence of audio data transmitted / received to / from the audio terminal slave unit, and is used for transmission start timing and transmission. Determine the channel. And
These pieces of information are transmitted to the slave unit at the time of synchronization acquisition described above.

When the communication with the slave unit becomes possible, the wireless communication between the master unit 1 and the slave unit at the timing of the data slot is started (step S88), and the received data is stored in the memory. Start processing (step S8)
9).

As a result, the data received from the outside line is output to the transmitting / receiving device 6 at the timing of the data terminal transmission slot under the control of the CPU 10, and is wirelessly transmitted to the slave unit by the transmitting / receiving device 6 by the frequency hopping method. You. In the slave, the received data is decoded by the modem of the slave and taken into the slave.

Next, rewriting of the area corresponding to the modem 5 in the hardware management table and rewriting of the respective areas of the master unit and the slave unit in the communication control table are performed (step S).
90), and shifts to a communication end monitoring process (step S9).
1).

As described above, by switching the hopping frequency for each frame while communicating the data received from the outside line to the slave unit on a frame-by-frame basis, a highly confidential and highly frequency-efficient wireless communication is achieved. Communication takes place.

Next, when no response from the slave unit is obtained in step S75 shown in FIG. 15 (step S75; N
The processing of O) will be described. In this case, first, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after transmitting the calling signal to the child device (step S80). If the predetermined time has elapsed (step S80; YES), a signal for rejecting the communication request is transmitted through an external line (step S79), the modem 5 is released (step S84), and the external line management table is rewritten (step S85). ), And shifts to the communication end monitoring process (step S86).

If the predetermined time has not elapsed (step S80; NO), it is determined whether or not transmission from an outside line has been stopped (step S83). as a result,
If the transmission has not been stopped (step S8)
3; NO), the process of waiting for a response from the slave unit is continued, but when the transmission is stopped (step S83; YE).
S), release the modem 5 (step S84), rewrite the external line management table (step S85), and shift to the communication end monitoring process (step S86).

Next, in step S70 of FIG.
When all slaves are in use (step S70; YE)
S) or any of the slave units can be used, but step S
At 71, if the data slot is already in use (step S71; YES), the communication request for the outside line is rejected (step S79), and the modem 5 is released (step S79).
84), the external line management table is rewritten (step S8).
5), and proceed to a communication end monitoring process (step S8)
6).

Next, in step S68 of FIG.
If the data transmitted from the outside line is FAX data (step S68; YES), the process proceeds to the parent machine FAX reception process (step S69). The parent machine FAX reception process will be described with reference to FIG. .

In the apparatus according to the present embodiment, all the facsimile data transmitted from the outside line is stored in the communication memory 13. Therefore, first, it is determined whether or not the communication memory 13 has a free area. (Step S10
0). As a result, if there is no free area in the communication memory 13 (step S100; YES), a signal for rejecting the communication request is transmitted to an outside line (step S113), and the process shifts to a communication end monitoring process (step S112). ).

However, if there is an empty area in the communication memory 13 (step S100; NO), the other party number is detected based on the data at the time of the incoming call (step S10).
1). If the other party number is detected (step S10
1; YES), and searches for a destination name and a transfer destination corresponding to the destination number based on a transmission source list as shown in FIG. However, if the other party number is not registered in this sender list, the other party name is treated as undefined. If the other party number cannot be detected (step S101; NO), both the other party number and the other party name are handled as indeterminate (step S103).

Next, the fax image data is transferred to the communication memory 13.
(Step S104), and also registers index information as shown in FIG. 26 in the communication memory 13 (step S105). This index information includes data N
o. , Reception date, the number of reception, the other party number, the other party name, the transfer destination, and the output status, among them, in the area of the other party name, the search results from the sender list described above Store. In the example shown in FIG.
o. The data of No. 4 is "#" indicating that the other party name is undefined because the other party number is not registered in the transmission source list. Regarding the data No. 5, "*" indicates that the other party number is also undefined because the other party number could not be detected from the data at the time of the incoming call.

The transfer destination registered in the transmission source list indicates a wireless address of the slave terminals 40A to 40D. With this information, FAX data can be transmitted from an outside line to a specific slave. It has become. The wireless addresses are assigned “5”, “6”, “7”, “8” for each of the slave terminals 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D. As in the case of the data No. 3, it is also possible to designate a plurality of slave terminals. The wireless address "0" designates that data is transferred to all the slave terminals, and that the master unit prints out or performs only one of them. The type of designation can be switched in the operation unit of the master unit. When receiving the data of No. 4, the wireless address "0"
Since the transfer print output is set together with the transfer to all the slave units and the print output has been completed, "output completed" is recorded in the output status. In addition, No. When the data No. 5 is received, only the transfer to all the slave terminals is set for the wireless address “0”, and the output status is determined because the transfer request has not been issued yet or the transfer has not been performed for any reason. Is recorded as "not transferred".

In the output status, the status of transfer or output in the master unit is recorded. Based on this information, it is possible to confirm the presence or absence of transfer data from the slave terminal.

When the storage of the FAX image data and the index information in the communication memory 13 as described above is completed, it is next determined whether or not to transfer the index information to the slave terminal (step S106). This determination is made based on the wireless address recorded in the transfer destination area of the index information and the setting information on the wireless address “0” described above. As a result, when the transfer to the slave terminal is set (step S106; YE
S), the process proceeds to a transfer process (step S107).

The details of this transfer process are shown in FIG. 18. First, it is determined whether any of the data terminal slave units 40A to 40D can be used by referring to the communication control table (step S120). If any of the slaves is usable (step S120; NO), it is next determined whether or not the data slot is usable by referring to the communication control table (step S121). If the data slot is usable (step S121; NO), it is determined whether the modem 5 is usable (step S12).
2) If it can be used (step S122; N)
O), the modem 5 is connected to the CPU 10, and a protocol is established with the slave (step S123).

However, when all the data terminal slave units are in use (step S120; YES) or when the data slots are already in use (step S121; YE)
S), or when the modem 5 is already in use (step S122; YES), the process proceeds to the print output process (step S108) in the parent machine shown in FIG. This processing will be described later.

After the modem 5 is connected to the CPU 10, information indicating that the connected device is the usable slave unit is stored in the area 143 corresponding to the modem 5 in the hardware management table (step S124). Then, a handset calling signal is created and the calling signal is transmitted (step S125).

Thereafter, a response from the slave unit is awaited (step S126), but if there is no response after a lapse of a predetermined period from the transmission of the calling signal (step S127; YES), or the transmission from the master unit is stopped. (Step S12
8; YES), release the connected modem 5 (step S129), rewrite the hardware management table (step S130), and shift to the print output process (step S108) shown in FIG.

However, if the response from the slave unit is within the predetermined period (step S126; YES), the process shifts to the non-voice data slot allocation process (step S13).
1). This process is the same as the process described above with reference to FIG. 16, in which transmission data from the master unit is allocated to a data slot, wireless communication with the slave unit is started, and the content of the communication control table is changed. (Step S
87-S91).

When the index information is transferred as described above, a predetermined operation is performed in each slave unit,
Index information as shown in FIG. 28 is displayed on the screen of each slave unit. This index information is stored in the wireless address 5
, Ie, the terminal transferred to the slave terminal 40A.

Based on the index information, the slave requests the master to transfer image data, or sends a request to delete any data to the master. This transmission processing will be described later.

Next, a description will be given of a printing process in the master unit which is performed after the above-described transfer process is completed or when transfer is not set. The information as to whether or not to perform printing can be set in the operation unit or the like of the master unit, and is stored in the RAM 12.

As a result of the determination made on the basis of this information, when printing is to be performed in the master unit (step S10).
8; YES), it is determined whether or not the image output block 8 is in use based on an internal signal of the master unit or the like (step S109),
If usable (step S109; NO), the contents of the hardware management table are rewritten (step S1).
10) The printing operation by the image output block 8 is started (step S111). As a result, the FA
X data is printed out.

However, if the print output has not been set (step S108; NO), or if the image output block 8 is being used (step S109; Y
ES), a signal for rejecting the communication request is transmitted to the outside line (step S113), and the process shifts to a communication end monitoring process (step S112).

As described above, in the apparatus of this embodiment, when a communication request is made from an outside line, a response can be made by the master unit or the slave unit, and voice data and non-voice data are mixed. , Parallel processing is possible.

When the data to be transmitted is FAX data, the FAX image data is temporarily stored in the master unit, and the index information is also stored. FAX data can be taken out. The transfer request processing from the slave unit will be described later.

Next, the case where a communication request is made from the master unit in step S3 shown in FIG. 11 will be described (step S3; YES). In this case, the process shifts to the parent device transmission data process (step S4), and details of this process are shown in FIG.

Here, the case where there is a communication request from the base unit means that the case where there is an external line transmission request from the base unit through an external line,
This is a case where the base unit has requested an extension communication to the child unit, and there are cases of using voice data and non-voice data, respectively.

First, the case where there is an external line communication request by voice data from the master unit will be described. Whether the communication partner is an outside line or an inside line is selected by a button (not shown) provided on the handset 9 or the like, and the CPU 10 reads a selection signal from the handset 9 so that it can be determined. . As a result of the determination, if the communication partner is an outside line (step S135; YES), it is determined whether the communication request is from the handset 9 (step S136). This is to determine whether data used for communication is audio data or non-audio data. As a result, in the case of a communication request from the handset 9 (step S136; YES), the voice codec 3a
Alternatively, it is determined whether or not 3b can be used by referring to the hardware management table (step S137). When any of the voice codecs is being used, voice data from the handset 9 cannot be transmitted to an outside line,
The communication request to the handset 9 is rejected (step S138), and a communication end monitoring process is performed (step S13).
9). However, if any voice codec is available (step S137; NO), the available voice codec is connected to an external line (step S140), and the external line management table is rewritten (step S141). That is, information corresponding to the usable voice codec is stored in an area 141 corresponding to a vacant outside line in the table. Then, a call signal for a communication partner through an outside line is created, and the call signal is transmitted (step S142). Thereafter, a response from the communication partner is waited for (step S143). If the handset 9 is in the on-hook state while waiting for the response (step S144; YES), as shown in FIG. The released voice codec is released (step S3).
9) Rewrite the outside line management table (step S4)
0), and shifts to a communication end monitoring process (step S4).
1).

On the other hand, if there is a response from the communication partner (step S143; YES), external line communication by the handset 9 is started (step S145), and the contents of the hardware management table are rewritten (step S14).
6). That is, in the hardware management table, information indicating that the connected device is the handset 9 is stored in the area 143 corresponding to the connected audio codec. Then, the process proceeds to the communication end monitoring process (step S14).
7). In this way, an external call from the base unit 1 using an external line is performed.

Next, a description will be given of a process for transmitting an external line from the parent device 1 using an external line of non-voice data, that is, transmitting FAX data. Also in this case, since the fax data transmission is selected by the operation panel (not shown) of the base unit 1 or the like, the selection signal is read by the CPU 10 to determine that the fax data transmission is performed (step S).
135; YES to step S136; NO). Next, it is determined whether or not the modem 5 is usable by referring to the hardware management table (step S148). If the modem 5 is already in use (step S148; YES), the communication request is rejected. (Step S138), and the process proceeds to the communication end monitoring process (Step S139). But modem 5
Is available (step S148; NO), the modem 5 is connected to an external line to establish a protocol (step S149). Specifically, transmission of a transmission command and reception of a reception preparation confirmation command are performed in accordance with the G3 standard.

Then, the outside line management table is rewritten (step S150), a call signal for the communication partner is created, and the call signal is transmitted (step S151). Thereafter, a response from the communication partner is waited for (step S).
152) If there is no response from the communication partner even if a predetermined period has elapsed since the transmission of the calling signal (step S15)
3; YES), reject the communication request to the base unit 1 as shown in FIG. 15 (step S79), release the connected modem 5 (step S84), rewrite the external line management table (step S85), and perform communication. The processing shifts to end monitoring processing (step S86). Also, when a request to stop transmission is output from the master unit (step S154; YE
S), release processing of the modem 5 (step S84), rewriting processing of the external line management table (step S85) and the like are performed as shown in FIG.

However, if there is a response from the communication partner within the predetermined period (step S152; YES), F
AX transmission is started (step S155), and the hardware management table and the communication control table are rewritten (step S146). That is, information indicating that the connected device is the parent device is stored in the area 143 corresponding to the modem 5 in the hardware management table.

This FAX transmission is performed not only for the data read by the image reading block 7 of the master unit itself, but also for the data transmitted from the data terminal slave units 40A to 40D and stored in the memory in the master unit. In any case, the image data is output from the CPU 10 to the modem 5, encoded, and transmitted to an outside line. Thus, the device of this embodiment is
It can also be used as a normal FAX transmitter.

Next, a description will be given of a case where the master unit 1 requests an extension communication to the slave unit in step S135 of FIG. 19 (step S135; NO). As described above, in this case as well, the request can be determined by pressing a button on the operation panel or the like of the base unit 1, and at this time, whether the communication partner is the slave unit or the base unit itself is selected by the button or the like. It is possible. And there is no communication partner,
When operating the parent machine itself (step S156; N
O), that is, when the master unit is used like a copy machine, it is determined whether hardware such as the image reading block 7 and the image output block 8 can be used based on signals inside the master unit (step S158). If the hardware is in use (step S158; YES), the request is rejected (step S138), and the process shifts to the communication end monitoring process (step S139). However, when the hardware is usable (step S158; NO), the copy operation is started (step S159), and the process shifts to the communication end monitoring process (step S160).

On the other hand, if the communication partner is a child device (step S156; YES), the flow shifts to a parent device extension process (step S157).

This processing is shown in detail in FIG.
First, it is determined with reference to the communication control table whether or not the audio terminal slave units 20A to 20D can be used (step S16).
1) If any of the slave units can be used (step S)
161; NO), and then determines whether or not the voice slot is usable by referring to the communication control table (step S16).
2) If it can be used (step S162; N)
O) Next, it is determined whether or not the audio codec can be used with reference to the hardware management table (step S16).
3). Then, when the audio codec is usable, the audio codec is connected to the CPU 10.

However, when all the slaves are already in use (step S161; YES), when the voice slot is already in use (step S162; YES), or when all the voice codecs are already in use. (Step S163; YES), the request is rejected (step S172), and the process shifts to the communication end monitoring process (step S173).

When the audio codec is connected to the CPU 10 (step S164), the area 143 corresponding to the audio codec in the hardware management table is stored in the area 143 corresponding to the audio codec.
Information indicating that the connected device is a usable slave is stored (step S165), a call signal for the slave is created, and the call signal is transmitted (step S166).

Thereafter, a response from the slave unit is waited for (step S167). If the handset 9 is in the on-hook state while waiting for the response (step S1).
68; YES), the connected voice codec is released (step S169), and the hardware management table is rewritten (step S170). However, when there is a response from the slave unit (step S167; YES), the process shifts to a voice data slot assignment process (step S17).
1). This process is the same as the process described above with reference to FIG. 13, in which voice slots are allocated, communication is started, and the communication control table is rewritten (steps S50 to S54).

As described above, in the apparatus of the present embodiment, it is possible to perform external line communication using the master unit alone and extension communication using voice data and non-voice data between the master unit and the slave unit.

Next, in step S1 of FIG. 11, when there is a communication request from the slave unit (step S1; YE
S) will be described. In this case, the process proceeds to the slave unit transmission data process (step S2), and details of this process are shown in FIG.

First, it is determined whether the communication partner requested by the slave is the slave (step S174). The information on the communication partner is stored in the response slot 120 shown in FIG.
The master unit obtains this information at the time of synchronization acquisition and performs the above-mentioned determination. As a result, when the communication partner is not a slave (step S174; NO), it is determined whether or not the transmission source is a voice terminal slave (step S176). This is determined by the transmission side ID 123 of the response slot 120 shown in FIG.

As a result, when the slave unit of the transmission source is the audio terminal slave unit (step S176; YES), it is determined whether or not the audio codec can be used with reference to the hardware management table (step S179). ), If any of the audio codecs can be used (step S179; N)
O) Then, it is determined whether or not the voice slot can be used by referring to the communication control table (step S180). And
If the voice slot is available (step S18)
0; NO), it is determined whether or not the communication partner requested by the transmission source slave unit is an outside line (step S181). This is also determined based on the information included in the response data 125. As a result, if the communication partner is not an outside line (step S181; NO), an extension call is made with the base unit, so whether or not the handset 9 of the base unit is in use is determined based on a hook signal or the like. (Step S182). If the handset 9 can be used (step S
182; NO), the master unit connects the audio codec of the master unit to the CPU 10 of the master unit (step S183).

On the other hand, if the communication partner requested by the slave unit is an outside line (step S181; YES), the voice codec of the master unit is connected to the outside line (step S185), and the outside line management table is rewritten (step S186). .

However, in the processing up to this point, all voice codecs have already been used (step S17).
9; YES), or when the voice slot is already in use (step S180; YES), or when the handset 9 is already in use (step S182; Y).
ES), since extension calls cannot be made between the slave unit and the master unit,
As shown in FIG. 7, a request rejection signal is transmitted to the slave unit (step S192), and the process shifts to a communication end monitoring process (step S193).

In addition, as described above, the outside line or the CPU 1
When the audio codec of the master unit is connected to any of the base units, the area corresponding to the audio codec in the hardware management table is rewritten (step S184), and a request permission signal is transmitted to the slave unit (step S187). . This information is transmitted to the slave unit as communication processing data 135 of the communication processing slot 130 shown in FIG.
Then, the voice slot length is determined in consideration of the channel used for communication with the child device and the presence or absence of non-voice data, the voice slot is allocated for communication with the child device (step S188), and the communication control table is rewritten (step S188). Step S189).
That is, information indicating the slave unit is stored in the area 145 of the communication partner terminal of the master unit, a voice is stored in the slot, or information indicating the selected channel is stored in the channel. Also, information indicating that the terminal is a parent device is stored in the area 145 of the communication partner terminal of the child device, a voice is stored in the slot,
The channel stores information indicating that the channel is the same as the above.

Then, the communication using the voice slot is started (step S190), and the process shifts to a calling process for the child device voice data (step S191).

The details of this processing are shown in FIG.
First, when the communication partner of the slave unit is not an outside line (step S210; NO), the master unit determines whether or not a call signal transmitted from the slave unit has been successfully received (step S21).
3). As a result, if the calling signal from the slave unit is received within the predetermined period (step S214; YES), the calling signal is transmitted to the handset 9 to call the handset 9 (step S215), and the response of the handset 9 is returned. (Step S216), and if there is a response from the handset 9 (step S216; YES), an extension call between the handset 9 and the slave is started (step S218), and the process shifts to a communication end monitoring process (step S218). Step S219).

On the other hand, in the state of waiting for a response from the handset 9 (step S216), when there is a communication termination request from the slave unit as the transmission source (step S217;
(YES), a communication end permission signal is transmitted to the slave unit (step S221), the connected voice codec is released (step S222), and the voice slot is also released (step S223), and the hardware management table is released. And rewrites the communication control table (step S22).
4), the process proceeds to a communication end monitoring process (step S21)
9).

If the calling signal from the slave unit to the master unit is not received within a predetermined period (step S21).
3; NO to step S214; YES), release the connected voice codec (step S225), release the voice slot (step S226), rewrite the hardware management table and the communication control table (step S227), A request rejection signal is transmitted to the device (step S228), and the process shifts to a communication end monitoring process (step S219).

Further, after starting wireless communication with the slave unit,
If the determination result of the communication partner requested by the slave unit is an outside line (step S210; YES), the slave unit performs external line processing (step S211), and shifts to communication end monitoring processing (step S212). This external line processing for a slave unit performs a normal external line call via a voice codec connected to an external line.

Next, a case will be described in which, in step S176 of FIG. 21, the slave unit as the transmission source is a data terminal slave unit (step S176; NO). In this case, first, it is determined whether or not a facsimile command related to facsimile data transfer or the like has been transmitted from the slave unit (step S177). This FAX command is transmitted from the slave unit based on the above-described index information.
In addition to transferring and deleting AX image data, this command is used to request whether or not untransmitted FAX data is recorded in the master unit. If the result of this determination is that the command is a FAX command (step S177; YES), the process proceeds to FAX command processing (step S178), which will be described later.

On the other hand, if it is not a FAX command (step S177; NO), it is determined whether or not the modem 5 can be used by referring to the hardware management table (step S194). (Step S
194; NO), it is determined with reference to the communication control table whether the data slot is usable (step S19).
5). If the data slot is usable (step S195; NO), it is determined whether or not the communication partner requested by the slave unit is only an outside line (step S196). (Step S196; NO), it is determined based on an internal signal or the like whether hardware such as the image reading block 7 or the image output block 8 of the master unit used for the image output or the like is usable. (Step S197). As a result, if the hardware is usable (step S19)
7; NO), the modem 5 is connected to the CPU 10 (step S198).

Then, the requested communication partner is not limited to the master unit (step S199; NO), or step S196
If the requested communication partner is only an outside line (step S19)
6; YES), connect the modem 5 to an external line to establish a protocol (step S200), and rewrite the external line management table (step S201).

However, in the processing up to this point, if the modem 5 is already in use (step S194; YES) or if the data slot is already in use (step S19)
5; YES) or when the hardware of the master unit is already in use (step S197; YES), a signal for rejecting the request is transmitted to the slave unit (step S192), and the process shifts to the communication end monitoring process. (Step S193).

After the connection destination of the modem 5 is determined as described above, the contents of the area corresponding to the modem 5 in the hardware management table are rewritten (step S202), and the communication request permission signal is sent to the slave unit. (Step S2)
03). Then, the data slot is allocated for wireless communication with the slave unit (step S204), the communication control table is rewritten (step S205), and the process shifts to the slave unit non-voice data calling process (step S206).

The details of this processing are shown in FIG. 23. First, it is determined whether or not the communication partner terminal requested by the slave unit is only an outside line (step S230). as a result,
In the case where image output or the like is performed not only on the outside line but also on the parent device (step S230; NO), it is determined whether to output data or input on the parent device (step S231). This information is transmitted from the slave unit to the master unit as information in the response data of the response slot 120 shown in FIG. As a result of the determination, if the data is to be output to the parent device (step S231; output), a process of storing data transmitted from the child device and received by the parent device in the memory in the parent device is started (step S232), The image output by the output block 8 is started (step S233). On the other hand, when data is input at the master unit (step S
231; input), image reading is started by the image reading block 7 (step S236), and processing for storing the read data in the memory in the master unit is started (step S23).
7). Next, a process of transmitting the data stored in the memory to the slave using the data slot is started (step S238).

After the process of starting data output or input in the master unit has been performed in this way, it is determined whether or not the requested communication partner from the slave unit is only the master unit (step S234). Not only the master unit (step S234; N
O) Or, if the requested communication partner is only the outside line in step S230 (step S230; YES), the external line processing of the slave unit is started (step S239). This external line processing for the slave unit performs normal FAX communication or data communication via the modem 5 connected to the external line.

After the above processing, the process shifts to the communication end monitoring processing (step S235) in the same manner as in the other communication processing described above.

As described above, according to the device of this embodiment,
Extension communication or extension line communication between the slave unit and the master unit according to a request from the slave unit is possible, and such communication is possible for both voice data and non-voice data.

Next, the case where the communication request from the slave unit is another slave unit in step S174 of FIG. 21 (step S174; YES) will be described. In this case, the processing shifts to the slave-to-slave communication processing (step S
175). Details of this processing are shown in FIG. 24. First, by referring to the synchronization acquisition information area 148 of the communication control table, it is determined whether or not synchronization is established between the slave unit and the master unit of the communication partner. A determination is made (step S240). This is because, when the extension communication between the slave units is started, a normal response cannot be obtained from these slave units even if the synchronization acquisition processing is performed in the master unit. If the synchronization is established (step S240; YES), it is determined whether or not the slave unit of the communication partner can be used by referring to the communication control table (step S241). In this case (step S241; NO), it is determined whether there is an unused channel by referring to the communication control table (step S242). This is because, even when a voice slot and a non-voice slot of a certain channel are used between the parent device and the child device, communication between the child device and the child device is made possible. In, a channel not used for communication between the master unit and the slave unit is selected. If there is a free channel as a result of the determination, the channel is allocated to the communication between the slave units (step S243), and the channel information area 147 for both slave units in the communication control table is rewritten (step S244).

When the slave is not synchronized with the communication partner (step S240; NO), or when the slave is already in use (step S241; YES),
Alternatively, if there is no available channel (step S2
42; YES), a request rejection signal to the slave unit is transmitted (step S248), and the flow shifts to communication end monitoring processing (step S249).

After the channel assignment is completed,
A communication request permission signal is transmitted to the slave unit together with the channel information (step S245), and the master unit recognizes the start of communication between the slave units (step S246).

On the other hand, the slaves that have received the communication request permission signal transmit a communication request to another slave as a communication partner, and start communication with each other after obtaining the communication permission from the slave. I do. This communication is also performed by the frequency hopping method, but the frame structure and the slot structure used may be the same as those used between the parent device and the child device as described above, or may be different structures. However, by using the frame and the slot having the structure described above,
Wireless communication in which voice data and non-voice data are mixed can be performed between slave units.

After the above processing, the process shifts to the communication end monitoring processing (step S247). As a result of the transmission of the communication request from the slave unit to another slave unit, the communication permission from the other slave unit is permitted. If the communication has not been received, a communication end request is transmitted from the slave unit to the master unit. When this request is recognized in step S63 shown in FIG. 14, the master unit transmits a communication end permission signal to the slave unit. Is transmitted (step S64), release of the slot and channel, rewriting of the table, and the like are performed (step S65 to step S66).

The communication end request in the communication between the slave units is transmitted according to the priority order of the slave units registered in advance in the master unit. That is, assuming that the priority of the slave 20A is higher than the priority of the slave 20B, the slave 20A first transmits a communication end request signal to the master. However, in response to the termination request signal transmitted by the child device A, the parent device transmits a termination permission signal, and the child device B does not know that the child device A has received the permission signal. Regardless of whether or not device A has received the communication termination permission signal, it transmits a communication termination request signal to the parent device. Then, transmission and reception of these signals are continued until the master unit finally recognizes the communication end request signal and both the slave unit A and the slave unit B recognize.

The communication between the slaves and the slaves is carried out between the slaves for voice or between the slaves for data, and between the slaves for voice and the slaves for data. And simultaneous communication can be performed.

As described above, according to the apparatus of the present embodiment, it is possible to perform the wireless communication by the frequency hopping method between the slave unit and the slave unit while performing the wireless communication by the frequency hopping system between the master unit and the slave unit. Can be.

As described in detail above, according to the apparatus of this embodiment, various kinds of communication are possible, but when one piece of hardware is used in principle, the hardware is used for other processing. Can not be used for.

Therefore, the data terminal units 40A to 40D
If a request for transmission of FAX data is received from an outside line while the master unit 1 is performing print output in response to an extension communication request from, the transmission side of the FAX data enters a standby state and further enters a timeout state. , Cannot be received normally.

On the other hand, if a request for suspending the data transmission is transmitted to the data terminal device transmitting the print output data, and the image output based on the FAX data from the outside line is performed, The data transfer rate temporarily drops.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as described above, the fax data transmitted from the outside line is temporarily stored in the communication memory 13 of the master unit, and the index information is transferred to the slave unit, so that the slave unit can receive the fax data. By transmitting a facsimile command based on the index information to the parent machine from the machine side, only necessary facsimile data can be transferred or printed out.

In the slave unit, based on the screen display as shown in FIG. Is selected, and a "transfer" command, a "print output" command, and a "confirmation" command for received data are designated with a keyboard or a mouse, etc., and transmitted to the master unit.

The following describes the FAX command processing of the present embodiment when such a FAX command is transmitted from a slave unit. This FAX command processing
This is executed when the communication request from the slave unit is a facsimile command in step S177 in FIG. 21 (step S177; YES to step S178).

The details of this processing are shown in FIG.
First, it is determined whether or not the modem 5 can be used by referring to the hardware management table (step S250). If it can be used (step S250; NO), it is communicated whether or not the data slot can be used. The determination is made with reference to the control table (step S251). If the data slot is usable (step S251; NO), the modem 5 is connected to the CPU 10 (step S252).
Next, the contents of the area corresponding to the modem 5 in the hardware management table are rewritten (step S253), and a communication request permission signal is transmitted to the slave unit (step S25).
4). Then, the data slot is allocated for wireless communication with the slave unit (step S255), the communication control table is rewritten (step S256), and the FAX command is analyzed.

As a result of the analysis, if the command is “delete” (step S257; YES), the FAX image data stored in the communication memory 13 is deleted, and the corresponding item of the index information is deleted (step S258). ). In this deletion, only the corresponding item of the index information can be deleted, and the FAX image data can be left. The switching of the setting can be performed by an operation unit or the like of the master unit.

Next, when a "transfer" command is transmitted (step S259; YES), the contents of the "output status" area of the index information are rewritten (step S260), and the designated FAX image data is rewritten. Transfer to the slave unit is started (step S261). In addition,
The "transfer" command includes a command for rewriting the transfer destination of the index information. When this command is transmitted, only the content of the index information is rewritten, and the image data is not transferred.

Next, when the "print output" command is transmitted (step S262; YES), it is determined whether or not the image output block 8 is in use (step S263).
If it can be used (step S263; NO),
The printing operation is started (step S264), and when the image output block 8 is being used (step S263;
YES), and transmits the result to the child device (step S265).

Next, when a "confirmation" command is transmitted (step S266; YES), the presence / absence of untransferred data for the slave unit is searched based on the index information, and the result is sent to the slave unit. The communication is transmitted (step S267), and the process proceeds to a communication end monitoring process (step S268).

On the other hand, if the command transmitted from the child device is a command not set in the parent device or a command that cannot be analyzed (step S26).
6; NO), release the modem 5 connected to the CPU 10 (step S269), release the data slot (step S270), rewrite each table (step S271), and issue a communication request to the slave unit. A rejection signal is transmitted (step S272), and the process shifts to communication end monitoring processing (step S273). However, the process may return to step S250 so that the command can be accepted again.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to transmit a command from the slave unit based on the index information, transfer or delete FAX image data, or perform print output at the master unit. Therefore, during print output using the image output block 8 of the master unit,
Even when the X data is received, the FAX data can be processed when necessary without lowering the data transfer rate from the slave unit.

Further, since all the fax data is not immediately printed out, unnecessary printing of unnecessary data can be prevented.

In the above-described embodiment, the FA
The transfer request of the X image data is made from the slave unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the transfer is automatically performed from the master unit to the slave unit based on the index information. You may.

The setting of the above-mentioned transmission source list may be performed from the slave unit side, or may be performed by operating the operation unit of the master unit.

Further, in the index information registration process, only unregistered data such as the name of the other party may be listed up to facilitate registration.

[0220] Further, when the FAX data is received, a command may be transmitted from the parent device to the child device of the transfer destination to display a message indicating the reception on the screen or to sound a beep sound. In this way, quick data can be obtained.

According to the apparatus of this embodiment, both voice data and non-voice data can be transmitted / received in one frame, so that data from another child device can be transmitted to the parent device during an external call by the child device. Efficient communication is possible, such as printing out on a device or transmitting data from a child device through an external line. Since this communication is performed by the frequency hopping method, the confidentiality of the communication and the efficiency of use of the frequency are improved.

[0222]

According to the communication apparatus of the first aspect, the non-voice data and the communication information received together with the non-voice data are stored in the storage means, and at least the radio communication by the frequency hopping method is performed. Since non-voice data can be transferred from the parent device to the child device, even if non-voice data is transmitted from the external communication line during data transmission / reception between the child device and the parent device, the The non-voice data can be obtained at any time as necessary without interrupting the transmission and reception of the data. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the data transfer rate in transmitting and receiving the data.
Further, since only necessary non-speech data can be obtained by selecting from the transmitted non-speech data, it is possible to achieve appropriate information acquisition.

According to the communication apparatus of the present invention, the source telephone number of the non-voice data is extracted from the communication information and stored in the storage means, and the source telephone number stored in advance is stored. Since the source name corresponding to the telephone number is stored in association with the extracted source telephone number, it is possible to easily confirm the source of the non-voice data in the child device, Selection can be further facilitated.

According to the communication device of the third aspect, the communication information stored in the storage means is transferred in response to a transfer request output from the master unit or the slave unit. Even if the non-voice data is not output, the contents of the non-voice data can be grasped to some extent, and the selection can be further facilitated.

According to the communication device of the fourth aspect, the transfer destination can be set for one or both of the non-voice data and the communication information stored in the storage means, so that the transfer destination is set. Only the necessary data can be selected on the slave device side, and the data can be obtained quickly.

According to the communication device of the fifth aspect, the image data stored in the storage means is not only transferred to the child device based on a request from the child device, but also transmitted to the parent device by the image forming means. Since the image is formed and output, the information acquisition can be diversified and optimized according to the user's request.

According to the communication apparatus of the sixth aspect, the non-voice data and the voice data received by the master unit are wirelessly transmitted and received between the master unit and the slave unit by a frequency hopping method based on time division processing. Therefore, at the same time as the transfer of the non-voice data as described above, the communication using the voice data is performed, and the communication of the above-described method having high confidentiality and high frequency use efficiency can be efficiently performed. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a block diagram showing a configuration of a base unit,
(B) is a block diagram showing a configuration of a child terminal for a voice terminal,
(C) is a block diagram showing a configuration of a slave unit for a data terminal.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of transmission / reception measures provided in a master unit and a slave unit of the communication device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing an example of switching hop frequencies by the transmitting / receiving device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a hopping frequency table used in the transmission / reception device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a frame used in the communication device of FIG. 1;

7 is a configuration diagram of slots for voice terminals and data terminals in the frame of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing a synchronization acquisition process performed in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a synchronization acquisition slot used in the synchronization acquisition processing of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a table managed by a parent device in the communication device of FIG. 1;
(B) is an explanatory diagram of a hardware management table, and (C) is an explanatory diagram of a communication control table.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a communication process in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a voice data calling process in the communication device of FIG. 1;

13 is a flowchart of voice data slot allocation processing of the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a communication end monitoring process in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a non-voice data calling process of the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a non-voice data slot assignment process in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a parent machine FAX reception process in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a fax data transfer process in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing master unit transmission data processing in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a base station extension process in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing slave unit transmission data processing in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a calling process for the child device voice data of the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a calling process for non-voice data of the slave unit of the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a communication process between slave units in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing FAX command processing in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 26 is a table showing index information in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 27 is a table showing a transmission source list in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram showing a screen of a slave unit displaying index information in the communication device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional frequency hopping transmission / reception apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Master unit 2 ... NCU 3a, 3b ... Audio codec 5 ... Modem 6 ... Transceiver device 7 ... Image reading block 8 ... Image output block 9 ... Handset 10 ... CPU 11 ... ROM 12 ... RAM 13 ... Communication memory 20A-20D ... Handset for voice terminal 21A ... Microphone 22A ... Speaker 24A ... Speech codec 25A ... Transceiving device 26A ... Antenna 27A ... CPU 40A to 40D ... Handset for data terminal 41A ... Display device 42A ... CPU 43A ... ROM 44A ... RAM 45A ... Modem 46A: transmitting / receiving device 47A: antenna

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A communication system comprising: a master unit connected to at least one external communication line; and a slave unit for generating at least one non-voice data connected to the master unit and a wireless communication line by a frequency hopping method. An apparatus, wherein the master unit is an external communication line transmitting / receiving unit for transmitting / receiving data via the external communication line, a data type determining unit for determining a type of data to be transmitted / received, and a data determined by the data type determining unit. Data conversion means for converting data into a format that can be handled by either the external communication line side or the device internal side, and wireless transmission / reception of at least non-voice data to / from the slave unit by a frequency hopping method. Base unit side wireless transmission / reception means, storage means for storing the non-voice data received via the external communication line or the wireless communication line, and When the non-voice data is received by the external communication line transmission / reception means via a line, the non-voice data and communication control means for storing communication information received together with the non-voice data in the storage means, The slave unit, between the master unit, at least non-voice data, a slave unit side wireless transmitting and receiving means for wirelessly transmitting and receiving at a timing synchronized with the master unit by a frequency hopping method, Characteristic communication device. 2. The communication control unit extracts a source telephone number of the non-voice data from the communication information, stores the source telephone number in the storage unit, and transmits a call corresponding to the source telephone number stored in advance. 2. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein an original name is stored in association with the extracted caller telephone number. 3. The communication control means, in response to a transfer request output from a master unit or a slave unit, transmits communication information stored in the storage unit to the slave unit by the wireless transmission / reception unit. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication device is transferred. 4. A transfer destination setting means for setting a transfer destination corresponding to the caller telephone number, wherein the communication control means stores the non-voice data stored in the storage means based on the information of the transfer destination. Either data or communication information,
The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein both are transferred to a slave unit. 5. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an image forming unit configured to form an image based on the image data, wherein the communication control unit converts the stored image data as the non-voice data to the image based on a request from the slave unit. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the communication device transfers the image to a forming unit to form an image. 6. An external communication line transmitting / receiving means for transmitting and receiving voice data and non-voice data through the external communication line, further comprising at least one handset for handling audio data connected to a wireless communication line. As the master-side wireless transmission / reception means, both the non-speech data and the speech data are wirelessly transmitted and received in a frequency hopping manner by time-division processing between the slave and the slave that handle the non-speech data. Further comprising: a base unit-side switching control unit that switches the time-division timing according to the type of the data or a wireless communication state; and the base unit or another slave unit as the slave-side wireless transmission / reception unit. At least one of the voice data and the non-voice data is synchronized with the wireless transmission / reception timing of the master unit or another slave unit. Means for wirelessly transmitting and receiving in a frequency hopping manner by time-division processing, and further comprising a slave-side switching control means for switching the synchronized time-division timing according to the type of data or the wireless communication state. The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: