JPS6128261B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a broadcast device such as a facsimile machine that transmits one or more original documents to a plurality of recipients.

Broadcasting devices such as Fixtures can generally be divided into two types depending on their functions: simultaneous broadcasting devices and sequential broadcasting devices. That is, a simultaneous broadcasting device simultaneously transmits a document to be transmitted one by one to a plurality of parties, and a sequential broadcasting device transmits a document to be transmitted one by one to a plurality of parties in sequence.

However, in the case of such conventional broadcasting devices, it is necessary to simultaneously connect the lines to all the parties to whom you want to send the original.
Moreover, if the line condition with one of the plurality of parties is poor, the data must be sent to the other parties at the transmission speed under the poor line condition, resulting in very poor transmission efficiency. Furthermore, in the case of a sequential broadcasting device, when sending multiple sheets of originals, it is necessary to connect as many lines as the number of originals to be sent to the same recipient, which has the disadvantage of extremely poor transmission efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and is capable of independently transmitting original documents at transmission speeds depending on the line conditions of each of a plurality of recipients. To provide a new broadcast device such as a facsimile machine that does not require connecting lines for the number of documents to be transmitted to the same destination when transmitting documents.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a broadcasting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between transmitted originals and internal addresses in memory, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the minimum transmission rate at each transmission speed. FIGS. 4 and 5 are diagrams showing the relationship between time and decompression/restoring processing time in the decompression device, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the time relationship between the operations of each transmitting device.

First, in FIG. 1, from a sending facsimile (hereinafter referred to as FAX),
A signal specifying the recipient to whom the original is to be sent is sent to the receiving device 3. Receiving device 3 outputs this signal to central control device 17 . The central control device 17
A list of other parties is stored in advance, and the other party is confirmed by the input signal specifying the other party. At the same time, the receiving device 3 outputs a signal inquiring about the usage status of the memory 5 to the memory control device 16. Thereafter, the receiving device 3 receives the confirmation signal from the central controller 17 and the memory controller 16.
When it receives the memory 5 usable signal from , it requests the FAX 1 to send an image signal via the line 2 . When the FAX 1 receives this signal, it scans the original to be sent and transmits the image signal to the receiving device 3 via the line 2.
Send to. Upon receiving the image signal from the FAX 1, the receiving device 3 outputs the image signal to the compression device 4 in response to a control signal from the memory control device 16. The compression device 4 is for reducing the redundancy of the image signal and the amount of data written to the memory 5, and is controlled by a control signal from the memory control device 16. When the compression device 4 starts compressing the image signal, it outputs a signal indicating the start of compression to the memory control device 16. When the memory control device 16 receives a signal from the compression device 4, it writes compression information of the image signal from the compression device 4 into the memory 5 at a predetermined timing. Next, writing to the memory 5 will be explained in detail with reference to FIG. Second
Figure a shows the relationship between the first transmitted original and the address of the memory 5, and Figure b shows the relationship between the second transmitted original and the address of the memory 5. That is, the address of the memory 5 corresponds to the number of scanning lines scanned by the scanning device (not shown) of the FAX 1 on the transmitted document. Therefore, the compressed information of the image signal of the 10th line of the first original to be transmitted is written in address 10 of the memory 5. Furthermore, compressed information for each line of the second transmission document is written in addresses 100 to 155 of the memory 5. Note that the storage capacity of the memory 5 may be determined depending on the purpose of use of the device. By the way, before transmitting the image signal, the FAX 1 sends out a signal informing the other party to whom the original is to be sent, and a signal informing the other party of the number of originals to be sent and which original to be sent to which recipient. Furthermore, when a part of a transmission document is to be sent to a certain recipient, a signal indicating this is similarly sent out. These signals are input to the central control unit 17 via the line 2 and the receiving device 3. The central control device 17 checks which document should be sent to which party based on the input signal, and sends the memory control device 1
A control signal is output to 6. Memory control device 16
controls the memory 5 etc. with this control signal,
The results are notified to the central controller 17 at any time.

Here, the person to whom you are sending the manuscript is
The case of sending the same original to FAX 11 to 14 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, 4a, and 5a. First, the central control device 17 outputs a control signal to the transmitting device control device 15.

The transmitter control device 15 outputs a control signal to the transmitter 9 based on the control signal from the central controller 17 . That is, the transmitting device 9a calls the FAX 11, and the transmitting device 9b calls the FAX 12.
Similarly, the transmitting devices 9c and 9d also call the other party, and when the calling ends, each of the transmitting devices 9a to 9d outputs a connection completion signal to the transmitting device control device 15. When the transmission control device 15 receives this signal, it outputs a signal to the central control device 17,
The central control unit 17 uses this signal to confirm whether all the transmitting devices 9 have completed the connection or which transmitting device 9 has completed the connection. For the transmitting device 9 that has not completed the connection, a control signal is output to the transmitting device control device 15 to call the other party again after a certain period of time. Furthermore, the transmitting device 9 that has completed the connection outputs a control signal to the memory control device 16 and outputs a control signal to the memory control device 16.
6 outputs a control signal for operating the transmitting device 8 corresponding to the transmitting device 9 with which the connection has been completed.

Here, FIG. 3 will be explained. Figure 3a
indicates the minimum transmission time at the transmission speed determined by the state of the line 10. That is, when the transmission speed is 9600 bps (bits per second), the minimum transmission time is T, when the transmission speed is 4800 bps it is 2T, and similarly when the transmission speed is 2400 bps it is 4T. This minimum transmission time is the minimum time required to transmit certain information, so in the case of a transmission rate of 9600 bps, for example, the next information cannot be transmitted until T seconds later. FIG. 3b shows the maximum and minimum restoration processing times in the decompression device 6. Now, if we consider the case where the compressed information at address 1 of memory 5 and the compressed information at address 105 are decompressed and restored, the content of the compressed information at address 1 of memory 5 is one line completely white, so the compressed information is small, and the decompression and restoration processing time is the minimum time _t1 . However, the content of the compressed information at address 105 is a mixture of black and white signals, and there is a large amount of compressed information, and the decompression and restoration processing time is close to the maximum time t ₀ . Decompression and restoration processing time t for any other compressed information
has the relationship t ₁ ≦t≦t ₀ .

Next, a description will be given with reference to FIG. 4a. First, as a precondition, it is assumed that the transmitting apparatuses 8a to 8d are capable of transmitting data to the other party's FAX machines 11 to 14 at a transmission rate of 9600 bps. In response to a control signal from the memory control device 16, the transmitting device 8a whose connection was completed first becomes operational, and reading from the memory 5 is performed at the same time. 1 corresponding to the first line of the transmission document read from memory 5
The compressed address information is expanded and restored to the original image signal by the expansion device 6 after a time t. The stretching device 6
is operated by a control signal from the memory control device 16, and outputs an end signal to the memory control device 16 when the decompression and restoration processing of compressed information is completed. When the memory control device 16 receives the end signal from the decompression device 6, it outputs a signal to the central control device 17. When the central control device 17 receives a signal from the memory control device 16, it outputs a control signal to the selection device 7. At this time, the selection device 7 selects the transmitter 8a.
1, which is expanded and restored by the expansion device 6.
Outputs image signals for lines. The transmitting device 8a is
When an image signal is input from the expansion device 6, the image signal is sent to the FAX 11 at a transmission rate of 9600 bps via the transmitting device 9a and the line 10a. Next, after time T has elapsed, the transmitting device 8a outputs the signal to the memory control device 16 since it has transmitted all the image signals.
Upon receiving this signal, the memory control device 16 sends a control signal to the memory 5 to read the compressed information at the next address. The compressed information at the next address read from the memory 5 is completely restored after time t, is input to the transmitting device 8a via the selecting device 7, and is transmitted to the FAX 11. Next, while the transmitting device 8a is transmitting the image signal, the memory control device 16 reads the compressed information at address 1 of the memory 5 in response to a control signal from the central control device 17.
The read compressed information is decompressed and restored by the decompression device 6 over time t. At this time, the selection device 7 selects the transmission device 8b, so the image signal is
The data is sent to the FAX 12 via the sending device 9b and the line 10b at a transmission rate of 9600 bps. Thereafter, the transmitting devices 8c and 8d also repeat the same operation, so that the transmitted document is transmitted to the other party in a time-sharing manner.
Sent to FAX 11-14.

Next, a description will be given with reference to FIG. 5a. FIG. 5a shows a case where the transmission speeds of the transmitting devices 8a to 8d are different. That is, transmitting devices 8a and 8
d is the transmission speed of 4800 bps, and the transmission device 8b is the transmission speed
The transmission speed is 9600 bps, and the transmitting device 8c is transmitting at a transmission speed of 2400 bps. Therefore, the transmitting device 8b can transmit faster than the other transmitting devices 8a, 8c, and 8d.
As shown in the figure, the image signal at the third location in the memory 5 has already been transmitted. However, the transmitter 8c is still transmitting the image signal at address 1. Furthermore, the connection of the transmitting device 8d is completed much later than the other transmitting devices 8a, 8b, and 8c. Note that since the operation is the same as that shown in FIG. 4a, a detailed explanation of the operation will be omitted here.

So far, cases have been described where the transmission speed is the same and when the transmission speed is different when the same transmission document is sent to multiple recipients.

Next, send a different document to the recipient's fax machine.
The case of sending the data to 11 to 14 will be explained with reference to FIG. 4b and FIG. 5b. First, in FIG. 4b, the transmission speeds of the transmitting devices 8a to 8d are all
FIG. 4 is a time-related diagram of the operation of the transmitting device 8 in the case of 9600 bps. The transmitting device 8a sends the first original to the FAX 11, the sending device 8b sends the second original to the FAX 12, the transmitting device 8c sends the third original to the FAX 13, and the transmitting device 8d sends four documents to the FAX 11. The original to be sent will be sent to FAX14. Also, 1
The first address of the first transmitted document is read from address 1, the first address of the second transmitted document is read from address 101, and so on, the third document is read from address 201, and the fourth document is read from address 301. shall be taken as a thing.

First, the memory control device 16 specifies address 1 in the memory 5 and reads the compressed information. The read compressed information is processed by the decompression device 6 at a time t.
Later, it is completely restored to the original image signal, and the selection device 7
The signal is input to the transmitting device 8a to which the connection is first completed. The input image signal has a transmission speed
The data is transmitted to the FAX 11 at 9600 bps via the transmitting device 9a and the line 10a. Next, the memory control device 16 specifies address 101 of the memory 5 and reads the compressed information. The read compressed information is completely restored to the original image signal by the decompressing device 6 after a time t, and is input via the selecting device 7 to the transmitting device 8b to which the connection is next completed. The input image signal has a transmission speed of 9600bps and is sent to the transmitter 9.
b and is transmitted to the FAX 12 via line 10b. Similarly, the image signal of the first line of the third transmission document is transmitted from the transmitting device 8c to the oscillating device 9c.
and is sent to the FAX 13 via line 10c. Further, the image signal of the first line of the fourth transmission document is transmitted from the transmitting device 8d to the FAX 14 via the transmitting device 9d and the line 10d. In addition,
The shaded area in the figure is originally the time during which the memory control device 16 must specify an address for the memory 5, but since the decompression device 6 is performing decompression and restoration processing of other image signals, it is necessary to specify the address. This shows the delay time for reading compressed information. in this case,
The transmitting device 8 transmits a dummy signal that differs from the image signal by the delay time. This dummy signal is
Fax from the other party via sending device 9 and line 10
However, since the other party's fax machine does not record this dummy signal, it does not affect the received image.

Next, FIG. 5b shows a case where the transmission speeds of the transmitting devices 8a to 8d are different. That is, the transmitters 8a and 8d transmit at a transmission rate of 4800 bps, the transmitter 8b transmits at a transmission rate of 9600 bps, and the transmitter 8c transmits at a transmission rate of 2400 bps. Note that a detailed explanation of the operation will be omitted here since it can be easily understood from the above explanation.

In the embodiment described above, the entire transmission document is transmitted, but the present invention can also transmit only a part of the transmission document as shown in FIG. 2b, for example. You can also do that. In other words, the information from addresses 101 to 110 in memory 5 of the transmitted documents shown in Figure 2 b from FAX 1 is
When a signal indicating that a message is to be sent to the FAX 11 is output to the central control unit 17, the central control unit 17 outputs a control signal to the memory control unit 16 to read only addresses 101 to 110 of the memory 5 when transmitting to the FAX 11. When this control signal is input, the memory control device 16 controls the memory 5.
The compressed information from addresses 101 to 110 is read, but other compressed information is not read. This compressed information is
It is restored by the decompression device 6 and inputted to the transmission device 8a by the selection device 7. Thereafter, the transmitting device 8a transmits data via the transmitting device 9a and the line 10a.
Transmits the image signal input to FAX 11. By the above-described operation, a part of the transmission document shown in FIG.

The cases in which the transmitted originals are the same and different, and the transmission speeds are the same and different have been explained above. In either case, the transmitting device 8 transmits an image signal for one line of the transmitted original. Then, the image signal of the next line is requested from the memory control device 16. Therefore,
The memory 5 operates in a time-sharing manner for each of the transmitting devices 8a to 8d. Further, when the transmission of the requested transmission document to each of the transmitting devices 8a to 8d is completed, the central control device 17 stops the entire broadcasting device. Note that although the transmitting side in this embodiment is a facsimile via a line, the present invention is not limited to this. That is,
The present invention can also be applied to an integrated facsimile and broadcast device, in which case there is no need to go through a line.

As described above, according to the present invention, originals can be transmitted independently at transmission speeds that correspond to the line conditions of each of a plurality of recipients, and when multiple sheets of originals are sent to the same recipient, Since there is no need to connect as many lines as the number of documents to be transmitted, transmission efficiency can be significantly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a block diagram of a broadcasting device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figures 2a and b are diagrams showing the relationship between transmitted originals and internal addresses in memory, and Figures 3a and b
is a diagram showing the relationship between the minimum transmission time at each transmission speed and the decompression and restoration processing time in the decompression device,
FIG. 4 and FIGS. 5a and 5b are diagrams showing the time relationship of the operations of each transmitter. 1, 11, 12, 13, 14... facsimile, 2, 10... line, 3... receiving device, 4...
Compression device, 5...Memory, 6...Decompression device, 7
... Selection device, 8 ... Transmission device, 9 ... Transmission device, 15 ... Transmission device control device, 16 ... Memory, 17 ... Central control device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A memory for compressing and storing image information, a memory control means for decompressing and reading image information from this memory, and a plurality of transmitting means that can independently set the transmission speed and image signal transmission timing to the destination; Connection information such as the destination and the number of images to be sent is input, and the image information stored in the memory is expanded in predetermined units according to this connection information, and is sequentially sent to multiple destinations in a time-sharing manner via the transmission means. A broadcasting device such as a facsimile machine, which is equipped with a control means that performs control such as sending out a message.