JPH11103376A - Picture communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To execute transmission corresponding to the side of reception by transmitting compressed data in the case of binary communication correspondence or transmitting data transformed to a FAX data format when it is not the case of binary communication correspondence. SOLUTION: A control means 17 selects output data based on data, which show whether the reception side is correspondent to binary communication or not, inputted from a FAX MODEM 14. In the case of binary communication correspondence, data compressed by a compression circuit 15 are outputted but when it is not correspondent to binary communication, data transformed to the FAX format are outputted. The FAX MODEM 14 inputs data from a microcomputer 13 and outputs these data to a line while modulating them to analog signals and the analog signals from the line are inputted, demodulated to digital data and outputted to the microcomputer 13. In this case, the case of performing image compressing processing, which is to be performed by the compression circuit 15, through a software by the microcomputer can be considered as an application.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image communication device for communicating a still image via a line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the spread of computers and the development of the Internet have been advanced. In such a situation, a device for communicating images using a computer has been commercialized. On the other hand, fax machines are also widely used.

[0003] A conventional image communication apparatus will be described below. FIG. 6 shows a configuration of a first conventional image communication apparatus.

[0006] In FIG. 6, reference numerals 61 and 62 denote facsimile apparatuses, which are capable of communicating a read image in black and white via a telephone line.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration of a second conventional image communication apparatus. In this example, image communication is performed using a computer and a FAX modem.

Reference numeral 71 denotes an image capturing circuit which receives an image signal, converts the image signal into a digital signal, and writes it into a memory 72. Reference numeral 73 denotes an image display circuit that reads out the data written in the memory, outputs the data, and displays the data. Reference numeral 74 denotes a microcomputer having means for converting the data into a FAX format and performing reverse conversion.

When a user transmits an image, the image capturing circuit 71 writes the image captured in the memory 72, and the microcomputer 74 reads out the image data written in the memory 72, converts the image data into a FAX format, and converts the image data into a FAX format. Output to the modem 75. The FAX modem 75 modulates the signal into an analog signal and outputs it to the line. When the user receives an image, the microcomputer 74 inputs FAX format data received and demodulated by the FAX modem 75, inversely converts the data into image data, writes the data in the memory 72, and then reads out the image by the image display circuit 73. Display images.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a third conventional image communication apparatus. In this example, a computer performs image communication using a network.

Reference numeral 81 denotes an image capturing circuit which inputs an image signal, converts the image signal into a digital signal, and writes the digital signal into a memory 82. An image display circuit 83 reads out the data written in the memory, outputs the data, and displays it.

Reference numeral 84 denotes a microcomputer which has means for compressing and decompressing by a specific compression method. When the user transmits an image, the microcomputer 84 writes the image captured by the image capturing circuit 81 into the memory 82, and then the microcomputer 84
2 is read out, compressed by a specific compression method, and output to the communication board 85. The communication board 85 transmits data to which address information of the transmission destination is added to the network using a predetermined protocol. A mail server 86 on the network receives and manages the transmitted data. When the user receives the image, the user accesses the mail server 86 and, if there is an e-mail addressed to the user,
The data received by the communication board 85 is input by the microcomputer 74, decompressed by an appropriate decompression method, written in the memory 82, and then read out by the image display circuit 83 to display an image.

FIG. 9 shows the configuration of a fourth conventional image communication method. In this example, a computer performs image communication using a data modem.

An image capturing circuit 91 receives an image signal, converts it into a digital signal, and writes it to a memory 92. Numeral 93 denotes an image display circuit which reads out the data written in the memory, outputs the data, and displays it. When the user transmits an image, the microcomputer 94 reads the image data written in the memory 92 after writing the image captured by the image capturing circuit 91 into the memory 92, and reads the image data written in the memory 92.
Output to The data modem 95 modulates the signal into an analog signal and outputs it to the line. When the user receives an image, the microcomputer 94 inputs data received and demodulated by the data modem 95, writes the data in the memory 92, and then reads out and displays the image by the image display circuit 93.

[0013]

However, the above-described configuration has the following problems.

(1) F using a FAX or FAX modem
When communication is performed using AX format data, communication can be performed only as a monochrome image.

(2) When communicating using a network, it is necessary to receive the service of a server on the network, and there is the inconvenience that the user has to subscribe to a new service. Since the server receives and manages the data, the sender remains concerned about whether the data was actually sent to the recipient.

(3) When communicating using a data modem, both the transmitting and receiving sides must be data modems.
For example, it is not possible to communicate with a facsimile apparatus currently in widespread use.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image communication apparatus which solves the above-mentioned conventional problems.

[0018]

In order to achieve this object, an image communication apparatus according to the present invention comprises an image capturing means for digitally converting an input image signal and capturing the image signal, and a storage for temporarily storing the captured image data. Means, facsimile data conversion means for converting the stored image data into a facsimile data format, compression means for compressing the stored image data by a predetermined compression method, and digital data converted into the facsimile data format. FAX modulating means for modulating data or the compressed digital data into an analog signal and transmitting to the line, FAX demodulating means for demodulating an analog signal received from the line to digital data, and receiving whether the receiving side is compatible with binary communication. If it is compatible with binary communication based on the received signal from the It is characterized in that a control means for controlling so as to transmit the signal to convert data to the FAX data format to be binary communications enabled.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first aspect of the present invention is an image capturing means for digitally converting an input image signal and capturing the image signal, a storing means for temporarily storing the captured image data, and a storing means. FAX data conversion means for converting image data into a FAX data format, compression means for compressing stored image data by a predetermined compression method, digital data converted to the FAX data format or the compressed digital data. FAX modulation means for modulating data into an analog signal and transmitting the data to a line;
FAX demodulating means for demodulating an analog signal received from the line into digital data, and determining whether or not the receiving side is compatible with binary communication based on the received signal from the receiving side and transmitting the compressed data if binary compatible. The present invention relates to an image communication apparatus characterized by comprising control means for controlling transmission of data converted to the facsimile data format if the communication data is not compatible with binary communication.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a facsimile demodulating means for converting an analog signal received from a line into digital data, a storing means for temporarily storing demodulated digital data, and a means for storing the stored data. Image data conversion means for converting a data format of facsimile data into image data, decompression means for decompressing stored data by an appropriate decompression method, and displaying the data converted to the image data or the decompressed data Display means, and control means for controlling to display the decompressed data when received by binary communication and to display the data converted to the image data when not received by binary communication. The present invention relates to an image communication apparatus characterized by the following.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when image data is transmitted, the receiving side has means for determining whether or not the receiving side is compatible with binary communication based on a received signal from the receiving side, and transmitting the image data in accordance with the determination result. Select whether to convert the image data to be converted to FAX format data and send it.
When receiving image data, it has means for storing data indicating whether or not the image data is received by binary communication in association with the received image data, and when displaying the received image data, the content of the associated data is displayed. The present invention relates to an image communication apparatus characterized in that whether or not to perform reverse conversion of a FAX format is selected and displayed.

In the image communication device as described above,
(1) When the receiving side supports binary communication, the transmitting side can control to transmit color image information by binary communication.

(2) Since direct communication is performed via a telephone line, there is no need to receive a new service. In addition, since communication is performed while the line is connected, the user has a sense of security that the receiving side has received the communication.

(3) When the receiving side is a facsimile apparatus, the transmitting side can convert image information into a facsimile format and transmit it.

Embodiment 1 Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image communication apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 11 denotes an image capturing circuit.
An image signal is input, converted into digital data, and written into the memory 12. Reference numeral 15 denotes a compression circuit which inputs image data written in the memory 12, performs image compression such as MPEG, and outputs the result. Reference numeral 13 denotes a microcomputer which converts the image data written in the memory 12 into a facsimile format using the facsimile conversion means 16 and outputs the facsimile data to the facsimile modem 14 or inputs the image data compressed by the compression circuit 15 to the facsimile modem 14. Output to

The output data is selected by the FAX modem 14
Is selected by the control means 17 on the basis of data indicating whether or not the receiving side, which is input from, supports binary communication. If it is compatible with binary communication, it outputs data compressed by the compression circuit 15, and if it is not compatible with binary communication, it outputs data converted to FAX format. The FAX modem 14 receives data from the microcomputer 13, modulates the signal into an analog signal and outputs the signal to the line, and receives the analog signal from the line, demodulates the data into digital data, and outputs the digital data to the microcomputer 13. It should be noted that the image compression process performed by the compression circuit may be performed by the microcomputer 13 using software.

In such an image communication apparatus, the control operation of the microcomputer 13 and the like when a user transmits an image will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 2, after the receiving side receives the call, the FAX modem 14 receives data indicating whether or not it corresponds to the binary communication transmitted by the receiving side and outputs the data to the microcomputer 13. For example, it can be realized by setting a code for binary communication in the NSF signal in advance.

Next, the microcomputer 13 determines whether or not the receiving side supports binary communication based on the data. If the receiving side determines that the receiving side supports binary communication,
The image data compressed by the compression circuit 15 is transmitted to the FAX modem 1
If the receiving side determines that the image data is not compatible with the binary communication, the image data converted to the FAX format is output to the FAX modem 14 and transmitted.

The image communication device configured as described above
When the receiving side supports binary communication, control can be performed so that color image information is transmitted by binary communication. When the receiving side is a FAX device, the image information can be converted into a FAX format and transmitted.

(Embodiment 2) Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a drawing showing the configuration of the image communication apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 34 denotes a FAX modem which receives an analog signal from a line, demodulates the signal into digital data, and outputs the digital data. Reference numeral 33 denotes a microcomputer, which is controlled by a control means 38.
The data output from the X modem 34 is written into the memory 32, and the data indicating whether the received data has been received by binary communication is written in association with the received data. If the user decides to display the received data, the data associated with the image data to be displayed is read from the memory 32, and if the data is not received by binary communication, the received data is converted to image conversion means. The image data is converted from the facsimile format into image data by using 39 and written into the memory 32.

In the case of data received by binary communication, the decompression circuit 37 performs an appropriate demodulation process on the received data and writes the data in the memory 32. An image display circuit 36 reads out and displays the image data written in the memory 32. It should be noted that a case where the microcomputer 33 performs the decompression processing performed by the decompression circuit 37 by software processing is also considered as an application. Further, the received data and the data to be associated may be written in separate memories.

Control operations of the microcomputer 33 and the like when the user receives an image in such an image communication apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

After receiving the call, the FAX modem 34 sends data indicating that binary communication is supported to the transmitting side. For example, it can be realized by setting a code for binary communication in the NSF signal in advance. Thereafter, communication is established and data is received depending on whether the transmitting side supports binary communication. The microcomputer 33 writes data received from the FAX modem 34 into the memory 32 and writes data indicating whether or not the reception was performed by binary communication into the memory 32 in association with the received data.

If the user decides to display the received data, the microcomputer 33 reads out the associated data, and if the received data has been received by binary communication, the received data is decompressed by the decompression circuit 37. The processing is controlled so that the data is written to the memory 32. If the received data is not received by the binary communication, control is performed so that the received data is converted from a FAX format into image data and written into the memory 32. Thereafter, the image display circuit 36 reads out the written image data, and displays and outputs the image data.

The image communication apparatus configured as described above
If the transmitting side supports binary communication, color image information can be received by binary communication and displayed in color. Further, even when the transmitting side is a facsimile apparatus, the image can be received and displayed in black and white.

(Embodiment 3) A third embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the image communication apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 51 denotes an image capturing circuit.
The image signal is input, converted into digital data, and written into the memory 52. Reference numeral 55 denotes a compression circuit which inputs image data written in the memory 52, performs image compression such as MPEG, and outputs the result. Reference numeral 53 denotes a microcomputer which converts the image data written in the memory 52 under the control of the control means 59 into a FAX format using the FAX conversion means 58 and outputs the FAX format to the FAX modem 54 or the image data compressed by the compression circuit 55 And outputs it to the FAX modem 54.

The output data is selected based on data indicating whether or not the receiving side input from the FAX modem supports binary communication. If it supports binary communication, it outputs data compressed by the compression circuit 55, and if it does not support binary communication, it outputs data converted to the FAX format. F
The AX modem 54 receives the data from the microcomputer 53, modulates the signal into an analog signal, and outputs the signal to the line. The AX modem 54 receives the analog signal from the line, demodulates the data into digital data, and outputs the digital data to the microcomputer 53.

The microcomputer 53 writes data output from the FAX modem 54 into the memory 52 under the control of the control means 59, and writes data indicating whether or not the received data has been received by binary communication in association with the received data. If the user decides to display the received data, the data associated with the image data to be displayed is read from the memory 52, and if the data is not received by binary communication, the received data is converted to image conversion means. The image data is converted from the FAX format into image data using the FAX 50 and written into the memory 52.
In the case of data received by binary communication, the decompression circuit 57 performs an appropriate demodulation process on the received data and writes the data into the memory 52.

Reference numeral 56 denotes an image display circuit which reads out and displays image data written in the memory 52. In addition,
A case where the microcomputer 53 performs the compression processing performed by the compression circuit 55 or the expansion processing performed by the expansion circuit 57 by software processing is also considered as an application. Further, the received data and the data to be associated may be written in separate memories.

In such an image communication apparatus, the control operation of the microcomputer 53 and the like when the user transmits an image is controlled in the same manner as in the first embodiment. The control operation of the microcomputer 53 and the like when the user receives an image is controlled in the same manner as in the second embodiment.

The image communication device configured as described above
When transmitting, when the receiving side supports binary communication, control can be performed so that color image information is transmitted by binary communication. When the receiving side is a fax machine,
The image information can be converted into a FAX format and transmitted.

In the case of receiving, when the transmitting side supports binary communication, color image information can be received by binary communication and displayed in color. Also, if the transmitting side is F
Even in the case of an AX device, it can be received and displayed in black and white.

[0047]

As described above, the image communication apparatus of the present invention
When transmitting, when the receiving side supports binary communication, control can be performed so that color image information is transmitted by binary communication. When the receiving side is a fax machine,
The image information can be converted into a FAX format and transmitted.

In the case of receiving, when the transmitting side supports binary communication, color image information can be received by binary communication and displayed in color. Also, if the transmitting side is F
Even in the case of an AX device, it can be received and displayed in black and white.

Therefore, when transmitting, if the receiving side supports binary communication, image data of color information can be transmitted. In the case of receiving, if the transmitting side supports binary communication, image data of color information can be received. At the same time, transmission / reception to / from FAX is realized by the same line and hardware.

Since the communication is performed directly through the telephone line, there is no need to receive a new service. In addition, since communication is performed in a state where the line is connected, the user can realize an image communication device having a sense of security that the receiving side has received.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of an image communication apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the operation of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the image communication apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the operation of the apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the image communication apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a first configuration example of a conventional image communication device.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a second configuration example of a conventional image communication device.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a third configuration example of a conventional image communication device.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a fourth configuration example of a conventional image communication device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11, 51 Image capture circuit 12, 32, 52 Memory 13, 33, 53 Microcomputer 14, 34, 54 FAX modem 15, 55 Compression circuit 36, 56 Image display circuit 37, 57 Decompression circuit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image capturing means for digitally converting an input image signal and capturing the image signal, a storage means for temporarily storing the captured image data, and a facsimile for converting the stored image data into a facsimile data format. Data conversion means, compression means for compressing stored image data by a predetermined compression method, and digital data converted to the FAX data format or the compressed digital data modulated into an analog signal and transmitted to a line FAX modulating means, and determines whether or not the receiving side is compatible with binary communication based on a received signal from the receiving side, and transmits the compressed data if binary communication is supported, and converts to the FAX data format if not compatible with binary communication. Control means for controlling transmission of the converted data. 2. A facsimile demodulating means for converting an analog signal received from a line into digital data, a accumulating means for temporarily accumulating demodulated digital data, and converting the accumulated data from a facsimile data format into image data. Image data conversion means for converting the image data into data, display means for displaying the data converted to the image data or the expanded data, and binary communication. Control means for displaying the decompressed data when received, and controlling to display the data converted to the image data when not received by binary communication. 3. When transmitting image data, the receiving side selects and transmits whether or not to convert the image data to be transmitted into FAX format data according to whether or not binary communication is supported, and displays the received image data. In this case, an image communication apparatus for selecting and displaying whether or not to perform the reverse conversion of the FAX format according to whether or not the reception is performed by the binary communication.