JPH1155398A - Communication equipment having paging function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication equipment having a paging function for paging for a specified number or a specified time without paging for each incoming call. SOLUTION: In this paging control, when a paging mode is set (S21: YES), whether or not a non-reproduced ICM(incoming message) or non-confirmed FAX reception is present is judged (S22), and when the judged result is YES, whether or not the total number of the number of the non-reproduced ICM and the number of the non-confirmed FAX reception is more than a specified number is judged (S23). Then, when the total number is more than the specified number (S23: YES), dialing to the telephone number of the preliminarily set destination of paging is operated (S24), and the data of the number of the non- reproduced ICM and the number of the non-confirmed reception are transmitted (S25). Afterwards, the values of a non-confirmed data counter and a non- reproduced data counter are reset (S26).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication device having a paging function.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in communication equipment such as a telephone, a facsimile apparatus, and a personal computer which can perform communication through a telephone line, received data is transmitted from the communication equipment by voice or image data. Is output from a speaker, a printer, a CRT screen, or the like. In such a communication device, when the received data is stored in the form of an answering machine or the like so that the received data can be recognized even when the user is not near the communication device at the time of reception. There are many.

[0003] Such received data is ICM recording (recording of incoming message) or facsimile reception data. The ICM recording and / or facsimile reception data is stored in the communication device. It is stored by being stored as data.

In recent years, various measures have been taken to retrieve such stored data by an external operation without approaching the device. When the stored data is received, an automatic call is made to a pre-registered receiver. Accordingly, communication apparatuses having a paging function for notifying that data has been received and the type of received data have become common.

[0005] Among the communication devices having such a paging function, for example, an answering machine is in an answering machine setting mode (S51: YES) as shown in a flowchart of FIG. If it is confirmed that there is (S52: YES), IC
The M recording and / or facsimile reception data is paged to a pre-registered receiver such as a pager or a mobile phone (S53).

[0006]

However, in a communication apparatus having such a paging function, an automatic call is made every time an incoming call is received. There was an annoyance such as an increase in restricting the behavior. In addition, there were inconveniences for mobile phone users, such as an excessive increase in telephone charges.

In the communication apparatus having a paging function according to the present invention for solving the above problems, paging is stopped every time an incoming call is received, and paging is performed every fixed number or every fixed time. That is, the communication device having a paging function according to the first aspect of the present invention provides an ICM recording and / or
Or a communication device having a paging function including unconfirmed storage data determination means for determining the presence or absence of unconfirmed storage data received by facsimile, and a data number determination means for determining the number of the unconfirmed storage data, When the unconfirmed stored data determining means determines that the stored data exists, and when the data number determining means determines that the stored data is equal to or greater than a certain number,
It is provided with control means for performing paging to a preset receiving device. The communication device having a paging function according to claim 2, wherein the control means determines whether or not the number of unconfirmed stored data is three or more by the data number determination means. Paging is performed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication apparatus having a paging function, comprising: an unconfirmed storage data judging unit for judging the presence or absence of unconfirmed storage data received by ICM recording and / or facsimile reception; A communication device having a paging function including a measuring means for measuring the unconfirmed storage data determination means,
Control means for performing paging to a preset receiving device when it is determined that the stored data exists and when the measuring means determines that a predetermined time or more has elapsed since the previous paging. It is. Claim 4
In the communication device having the paging function, when the control unit determines that one hour or more has elapsed from the previous paging by the measurement unit, the communication unit performs paging to a preset receiving device.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of a communication device having a paging function according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a facsimile apparatus as a communication apparatus having a paging function according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the facsimile apparatus.

The facsimile machine 1 as a communication device having a paging function of the present invention is a communication recording device having a multifunction, but any device having a paging function, such as a personal computer (PC) or a normal It may be a facsimile machine or an answering machine.

The receiving device 7 is not particularly limited as long as it can receive paging data from a communication device having a paging function. For example, a telephone device, a facsimile device, and a personal computer may be used, but a portable receiver is preferable, for example, a pager,
Any of a mobile phone and the like may be used.

As shown in FIG. 1, an apparatus main body 2 of the facsimile apparatus 1 is formed in a box-like body, and an operation panel 3 is disposed at a front portion of an upper surface thereof. The operation panel 3 is provided with various function keys such as a numeric keypad, a start key, a paging destination setting mode key, an answering machine mode key, a paging mode key, and a set key. Various operations of the facsimile machine 1, such as setting of a paging destination dial and setting of each mode such as an answering machine mode and a paging mode, are performed. At the rear of the operation panel 3, a liquid crystal (L
CD) display 6 is provided. On the LCD display 6, the setting status of the facsimile machine 1, various operation messages, and the like are displayed as necessary.

At the rear of the LCD display 6, there is provided an original placing portion 4 on which a facsimile original to be transmitted to another facsimile device 51 during the facsimile function and a copy original to be copied during the copy function can be stacked. ing. The various originals placed on the original placing section 4 are conveyed into the apparatus main body 2 and an image drawn on the surface of the original is read by the scanner 19 (see FIG. 2).
The document from which the image has been read is further conveyed and discharged in a stackable manner to a document discharge unit 9 provided below the operation panel 3.

A cassette insertion portion 5 is provided at the rear of the document placing portion 4. A paper cassette (not shown) capable of stacking and storing a plurality of recording sheets is detachably attached to the cassette insertion portion 5. The recording paper supplied from the paper cassette mounted on the cassette insertion portion 5 is discharged from a recording paper discharge portion 10 provided below the document discharge portion 9 after being used for printing.

As shown in FIG. 2, the facsimile machine 1
Is formed by connecting two units of a facsimile unit FU and a printer unit PU to each other through an interface 30. The facsimile unit FU includes a CPU 11, a ROM 12, a RAM 13, an EEP
ROM 14, network control unit (hereinafter referred to as "NCU") 15, modem 16, encoder 17, decoder 18, scanner 19, operation panel 3, L
The CD display 6 includes a timer 28 serving as a reference for performing a paging operation, and these are connected to each other via a facsimile control circuit 20.

The CPU 11 controls the facsimile control circuit 2 based on various signals transmitted and received through the NCU 15.
It controls each unit connected to 0 and executes a facsimile operation and the like. In addition, the ROM 12 is provided in each of FIGS.
Paging control program memory 12 as shown in FIG.
a is a non-rewritable memory storing various program memories storing various control programs executed by the facsimile machine 1 and the like.

The RAM 13 is a rewritable memory for storing various kinds of data.
, A page memory 13a for storing data received from the scanner 19, etc., a call memory 13b for storing a caller's message (ICM) when the answering machine mode is set, an unconfirmed data counter 13c, and an unreproduced data counter. 13d, various counters and various flags are provided. The unconfirmed data counter 13c is incremented when a facsimile is received when the paging mode is set, and is reset when the data content is confirmed or when paging is performed. The unplayed data counter 13d is incremented when an incoming call is made when the answering machine mode is set, and is reset when the content (ICM) is played back or when paging is performed.

The EEPROM 14 is a rewritable nonvolatile memory for storing data to be continuously stored. The data stored in the EEPROM 14 is
The information is retained even after the power of the facsimile machine 1 is turned off. EEP
The ROM 14 is provided with a dial memory 14a for storing the set paging destination telephone number.

The modem 16 modulates and demodulates image data via the NCU 15, transmits the modulated data to another facsimile apparatus 51, and transmits and receives various procedural signals for transmission control. The encoder 17 encodes image data or the like of a document read by the scanner 19, and the decoder 18 reads out received facsimile data or the like and decodes the same. The scanner 19 is for reading an image of a document inserted from the document placing section 4 into the apparatus. The facsimile unit FU of the facsimile apparatus 1 has NUC15,
It is connected to the receiving device 7 and another facsimile device 51 via a telephone line 52.

The printer unit PU includes a CPU 21 as an arithmetic unit, a ROM 22 for storing an operation control program of the CPU 21, and a RAM 23 having a work memory used when the CPU 21 is executed, a print memory for storing print data, and the like. And a PC interface 24 to which a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as “PC”) 53 as a main device is connected. Further, the printer unit PU includes a character generator (hereinafter, referred to as a character generator) that stores a vector font such as a character for printing.
25) and an inkjet head 26 for performing recording. These are the printer control circuit 2
7 are connected to each other.

The PC interface 24 is, for example, a parallel interface conforming to the Centronics standard. The facsimile apparatus 1 is connected to the PC via a cable 54 connected to the interface 24.
Data can be transmitted to and received from 53.

Next, a paging control process as a first embodiment performed by the facsimile apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to a flowchart of FIG.

Prior to this, a brief description will be given of a method of setting a paging destination telephone number. First, a paging destination setting mode key is operated to set a paging destination setting mode, and then a paging destination telephone number is set using a numeric keypad. After inputting and confirming the telephone number displayed on the LCD display 6, the set key is pressed to set. Then, the paging destination setting mode key is pressed again to exit the paging destination setting mode. Note that the answering machine mode and the paging mode are released by operating the respective function keys.

Normally, data transmitted from another facsimile machine 51 is received via the NCU 15 and the modem 16, and is temporarily stored in the page memory 13a of the RAM 13. At this time, if the paging mode has been set, the unconfirmed data counter 13c of the RAM 13 is incremented, and its contents are held in the page memory 13a until a confirmation operation is performed. If the answering machine mode is set when a call is made from another telephone device, the contents are stored in the call memory 13b of the RAM 13 and the unreproduced data counter 13d of the RAM 13 is incremented.

When the present paging control process is started by an interrupt process at predetermined intervals, it is first determined whether or not a paging mode is set (S21). If it is determined that the paging mode is set (S21: YES), the unreproduced ICM or the unconfirmed FA
It is determined whether or not there is X reception based on the unconfirmed data counter 13c and the unreproduced data counter 13d of the RAM 13 (S22).

Then, the unreproduced ICM or unconfirmed FA
If it is determined that there is X reception (S22: YE
S), the unconfirmed data counter 13 of the RAM 13 determines whether or not the total number (unconfirmed storage data number) of the number of unreproduced ICMs and the number of unconfirmed fax receptions is equal to or greater than a certain number.
The determination is made based on c and the unreproduced data counter 13d (S23). In addition, although the said fixed number is not necessarily limited, about three cases are preferable in order to operate more functionally.

Next, the total number of unreproduced ICM cases and unconfirmed FAX reception cases (number of unconfirmed stored data)
Is determined to be a certain number or more (S23:
YES), dials the set paging destination telephone number based on the dial memory 14a of the EEPROM 14 (S24). Subsequently, data of the number of unreproduced ICMs and the number of unconfirmed fax receptions are transmitted (S2).
5). As a result, in the receiving device 7, the unreproduced I
The number of CMs and the number of unconfirmed fax receptions are displayed on the display or transmitted by voice. Therefore, the person who received the page can operate the remote control
It is possible to listen to the contents of the unreproduced ICM or to transfer the contents of the unconfirmed fax reception. And RAM
The values of the unconfirmed data counter 13c and the unreproduced data counter 13d are reset (S26), and the paging control process is terminated.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the paging mode has not been set (S21: NO), the ICM that has not been reproduced is determined.
Or, when it is determined that there is no unconfirmed fax reception (S2
2: NO), the number of unplayed ICMs and unconfirmed faxes
When it is determined that the total number of receptions (the number of unconfirmed storage data) is less than the certain number (S23: NO),
The paging control process ends without executing the paging processes of S24 and S25.

According to such a paging control process of the first embodiment, no inconvenience is caused by the fact that the page receiving side is frequently called. In addition, since a certain number of pieces of information can be obtained at a time, it is functional.

As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the paging control process of the second embodiment performed by the facsimile machine 1 is basically different from the paging control process of the first embodiment described above. Since they are the same,
Detailed description is omitted.

The difference between the paging control process of the second embodiment and the paging control process of the first embodiment is that, in place of the process of S23 of FIG. 3, in S33 of FIG. 3 is determined based on the timer 28.
26, the timer 2 in S36 of FIG.
The only difference is the reset process (process of setting the elapsed time to 0) of No. 8.

The timer 28 (measuring means) is reset once when the previous paging operation is completed, and starts measuring time again. Also, the time elapsed since the previous paging operation is not necessarily limited,
For more functional operation, about one hour is preferable.

Next, a paging control process as a third embodiment performed by the facsimile machine 1 (see FIG. 5).
Will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the paging control process of the third embodiment basically includes the paging control process (the number of unconfirmed storage data) of the first embodiment and the paging control process of the second embodiment. The processing (time elapsed from the previous paging operation) is also used. Specifically, even if the number of unconfirmed storage data is less than a certain number (S43: NO), the elapsed time from the previous paging operation If the time is longer than a certain time (S4
4: YES), and start the paging operation (S45, S46).

At S47, the unconfirmed data counter 13c and the unreproduced data counter 1 in the RAM 13 are read.
The value of 3d is reset, the timer 28 is reset, and the paging control process ends.

Normally, the paging receiver assumes that if there is no paging for a long time, it is not the case that ICM recording or facsimile reception data does not exist, but that the communication device having the paging function has failed. May be anxious. By doing so, it is possible to eliminate anxiety or the like caused by the paging receiving side not receiving paging for a long time.

The unconfirmed stored data judging means of the present invention corresponds to the processing of S22, the data number judging means corresponds to the processing of S23, and the control means corresponds to S2.
4. This corresponds to the process of S25.

The unconfirmed stored data judging means according to the third aspect of the present invention corresponds to the processing of S32, the measuring means comprises the timer 28, and the control means comprises S34, S3
5 corresponds to the processing of FIG.

In the above embodiment, a portable receiver has been described as an example of a receiving device, but a message may be transmitted to a personal computer connected via a network or the like.

[0040]

As described above in detail, according to the communication apparatus having the paging function of the first aspect, paging is not performed until the number of stored data reaches a certain number, so that the page receiving side is called. The user does not feel bothered by the frequent number of times. It is also functional because a certain number of pieces of information can be obtained at a time. According to the communication device having the paging function of the third aspect, paging is not performed until a predetermined time has elapsed since the previous paging, so that the side receiving the paging can periodically obtain information, thereby improving convenience. Get higher.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a facsimile apparatus as a communication apparatus having a paging function according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the facsimile machine.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a paging control process of the communication apparatus having a paging function according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a paging control process of a communication apparatus having a paging function according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a paging control process of a communication apparatus having a paging function according to the present invention, which is a combination of the first and third aspects.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flowchart of a paging control process of a conventional communication device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Facsimile apparatus 11 CPU 12 ROM 12a Paging control program memory 13 RAM 13a Page memory 13b Call memory 13c Unconfirmed data counter 13d Unreproduced data counter 14a Dial memory 28 timer

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A paging system comprising: an unconfirmed storage data judging unit for judging the presence or absence of unconfirmed storage data received by ICM recording and / or facsimile; and a data number judging unit for judging the number of the unconfirmed storage data. A communication device having a function, wherein the unconfirmed storage data determination means has determined that the storage data exists, and the data number determination means has determined that the storage data is equal to or greater than a certain number. A communication device having a paging function, characterized in that the communication device further comprises a control unit for performing paging on a preset receiving device. 2. The control unit, when the number of unconfirmed storage data is determined to be three or more by the data number determination unit, performs paging to a preset reception device. The communication device having a paging function according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A paging function comprising: an unconfirmed storage data judging unit for judging the presence or absence of unconfirmed storage data received by ICM recording and / or facsimile; and a measuring unit for measuring an elapsed time after performing paging. A communication device having the unconfirmed storage data determination unit, when the storage data is determined to exist, and when the measurement unit determines that a predetermined time or more has elapsed since the previous paging, A communication device having a paging function, comprising a control unit for performing paging on a set receiving device. 4. The control unit performs paging to a preset receiving device when the measuring unit determines that one hour or more has elapsed since the previous paging. A communication device having the described paging function.