JPS60170363A - Data communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To exactly and quickly perform servicing processes, such as troubleshooting, periodical inspection, etc., by transmitting information related to prescribed operating conditions of each section to be controlled to prescribed destinations, when the information is obtained from an observing device. CONSTITUTION:A control section 2 scans and monitors each section 1a, 1b-1x to be controlled. When, for example, one section 1a among the section 1a, 1b- 1x to be controlled is in trouble and does not generate a normally outputting signal of a specific code but outputs another signal corresponding to the trouble and the control section 2 detects the signal, the control section 2 analyzes the signal and displaysd the troubled part and troubled condition on a display 5. Then the control section 2 operates a circuit control section 4 and calls a partner station by operating a circuit 6 and autodialer 3. When the connection with the partern station is confirmed, information regarding the troubled condition obtained as the result of the analysis is transmitted to the partner station as a previously fixed encoded signal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a data communication device, and particularly to a data communication device such as an electronic computer, facsimile machine, or word processor that performs communication operations by connecting to a predetermined communication line.

[Prior art] Electronic computers, facsimiles,
Due to the special characteristics of data communication devices such as word processors, when a failure occurs, a specialized service station or the like that performs maintenance is generally contacted and performs maintenance services.

When a user contacts a service station by phone, etc. to explain the symptoms of a failure, the user is not an expert on the equipment, and therefore cannot convey accurate and sufficient information about the failure to the maintenance person. is normal. Therefore, in addition to necessary maintenance parts, service personnel have to carry extra or unnecessary parts, tools, etc. to the repair site. Furthermore, there were often inconveniences such as repair not being possible due to a lack of necessary parts, and time required to order the missing parts again.

[Purpose] The present invention has been made in order to eliminate the drawbacks of the conventional example described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a data communication device that allows maintenance personnel to quickly obtain accurate and sufficient information in the event of a failure. shall be.

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a data communication device according to the present invention. In the figure, what is generally indicated by the reference numeral 1 is a controlled unit such as a printer or a reading device built into the data communication device. Here, each of these parts is designated by reference numeral 1a,
1b, . . . 1x. A control section 2 consisting of a microcomputer etc. controls each of these sections 1.
Control a to IX. The control unit 2 is connected to an auto-dialer 3 that automatically calls the other party, a line control unit 4 that controls connection and disconnection of the line 6, and a display 5 that displays various statuses. control operation.

Next, a second explanation of the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained.
This will be explained with reference to the figures. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the control procedure of the control section 2. As shown in FIG.

In step Sl in FIG. 2, when the water device enters the operating state, the control unit 2 controls each controlled unit 1a according to the flow of communication operation.
~1x is controlled according to a predetermined procedure. Each controlled part 1a, 1b
~ Scan and monitor IX.

At this time, the controlled units 1a to 1x exchange signals in a predetermined format with the control unit 2, and if they are operating normally, each outputs a signal based on a specific code. When the control unit 2 detects these normal signals in step S2, it returns to step S1 and repeats the scan again.

When a failure occurs in any one of the controlled parts 1a to 1x, for example, one of the parts 1a becomes malfunctioning,
The signal based on the specific code that is output during normal operation is no longer emitted, or another signal corresponding to the failure is generated from the controlled section 1a. When the control section 2 detects this signal in step S2, it moves to step S3 and analyzes this signal, and then displays the failed part and failure condition 1m on the display 5 in step S4.

Subsequently, in step S5, the control section 2 activates the line system 1i11 section 4 to connect the line 6 and the autodialer 3. Then, in step S6, the autodialer 3 is activated to transmit a preset number or code via the line control unit 4 to call a destination station such as a predetermined service center.

When the line connection with the other party is confirmed in step S7,
Proceeding to step S9, information on the failure state based on the above-described analyzed results is transmitted to the other party as a predetermined coded signal. When the transmission is completed, the line connection with the other party is disconnected, and in step 310, the display 5 is controlled to display that the failure information has been transmitted.

If the other party's line is in use in step S7 or connection cannot be established for other reasons, step S8
Move to. For example, the system may pause the transmission of the ringing signal and transmit the ringing signal again after a predetermined time interval, or if there are multiple specified contact points, it may automatically switch to another line. A preset process such as repeating the transmission of the calling signal is performed.

According to the above embodiment, in the event of a failure, information regarding the failure can be automatically sent to a predetermined partner station such as a service center, so service personnel can accurately receive information on the failure status before going to the site. can be grasped. Therefore, it is possible to take appropriate measures such as preparing parts and tools to deal with the failure, and it is also possible to prevent repairs from being impossible due to a shortage of parts, and to respond quickly.

In the above embodiment, failure information is transmitted by O-I dial only in the event of a failure, but information regarding the operating status of each controlled unit, such as the amount of recording paper in a printer or the reading device. Information regarding the light source lighting time and the like may be transmitted periodically. This results in
Services such as periodic inspections can be performed without going to the site, and consumable parts can be replaced at appropriate times.

[Effects] As is clear from the explanation below, according to the present invention, in a data communication device that connects to a communication line and performs a predetermined communication operation, means for observing the operating state of a controlled member;
A means for making a line connection with a predetermined partner is provided, and when information regarding a predetermined operating state of each controlled member is obtained by the means 1'1ll1, information regarding this operating state is transmitted to the predetermined partner. Because it uses a configuration that transmits
It is possible to provide an excellent data communication device with good maintainability that allows service processing such as failure repair processing and periodic inspection to be performed accurately and quickly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram explaining the present invention in detail, and FIG. 2 is a flow chart diagram explaining the operation according to the present invention. ■...Data communication equipment la, lb to IX...Each part configuring the device 2...Control unit 3...Auto dialer 4...Line control unit 5
...Display Figure 1 n x Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Claims] A data communication device that connects to a communication line and performs a predetermined communication operation is provided with means for observing the operating state of a controlled member and means for making a line connection with a predetermined partner, and the observation means is used to detect each controlled member. A data communication device characterized in that when information regarding a predetermined operating state of a member is obtained, the information regarding the operating state is transmitted to the predetermined destination.